A physician and professor at Duke University in North Carolina says that faith is a big factor in the healing and recovery of patients.

Dr Harold Koenig, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University and director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health said in an interview with NBC that a patient's "deep conviction to stay strong and keep faith" could lead to medical advances.

"We think that the research shows - and will show - that people whose faith is supported by their medical team, they're just going to do better," Dr Koenig told NBC4i.

The doctor said during the interview that a patient's recovery is influenced not only by the skill of the physician but also by the person's attitude and beliefs.

"It comes down to both the skill of the surgeon, the skill of the doctor, and the person's attitudes and their religious faith," Koenig explained.

Dr Koenig went on to elaborate that a person's attitudes and beliefs have a strong influence on the body's physiological processes that are necessary in healing it from sickness and injuries. In turn, Dr Koenig said that a person's religious faith exerts a considerable influence on their attitude towards various issues including physical recovery.

"A person's religious faith influences their attitudes, beliefs and their behaviours, that then can consequently affect their health," he added.

Dr Koenig said his belief comes from his own painful experiences with rejection, homelessness and divorce. He told NBC of the time when he was expelled from medical school and then the Army, after which he was forced to work in a gas station. Although it caused him "a lot of emotional and physical damage," Dr Koenig said his belief in a "higher power" helped bring him back.

"(They) (b)rought me back to my religious faith that I had earlier in life," Koenig said.

"It was a way that I was coping with the stresses of my own life," the physician added.