Tending to the spirit.

Editor's note: At this year's Catholic Health Assembly in San Diego, two highly regarded professionals who are deeply committed to fostering holistic approaches to health and health care are scheduled to take the stage. Rose Shandrow, system director of Spiritual Care Services at Franciscan Health System in Tacoma, Wash., is being honored by CHA this year with a mid-career award for outstanding leadership in pastoral and spiritual care. And Rachel Naomi Remen, MD, co founder and medical director of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program and author of Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal, a book that looks at medicine as a spiritual path, is one of the keynote speakers. Because both of these women share a common passion, we thought it would be interesting to forgo the usual interview format here and allow Ms. Shandrow and Dr. Remen to engage in a conversation from which the rest of us can learn and draw inspiration. The following discussion took place May 6.