Acting Skills Can Improve Doctors' Empathy

[Holmes]

:lol: (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=97&ncid=97&e=6&u=/hsn/20050304/hl_hsn/andtheoscargoestodocbrow

n) (click)

[DrSmellThis]

I loved Patch Adams's

comment.

[belgareth]

It's easy to understand the

Doc's position though. After innumerable sick people have been through your door it can be hard to feel much of

anything. Any normal human gets that way. That's not justification but working in a business where I hear mostly

bad things myself I can emphasize with them. :rant: Especially when so much of it is self inflicted.

[DrSmellThis]

Yep, it's tough.

Life's

problems are mostly our own creations, in part.

Doctors get burned out. They need breaks. They need support.



The current health care climate (maximixe those dollars; see 100 people for 10 minutes each) doesn't help one

bit.

The problem is mostly systemic. Sometimes a smaller practice can help, or leaving the HMO environs.



But people who can't feel compassion for their patients need to get out of the field, if even for their own

sakes.

Mostly care providers need to go into their profession with the right attitude, and continue to foster

and develop it. A modicum of real compassion and empathy are essential to healing (to communication, diagnosis, and

patient compliance, as well as healing proper). They are skills, and can be learned; even mastered within one's

role. It's possible to retain compassion regardless of momentary emotions and stressors. Training can play a huge

role in fostering all this.

The emphasis on acting the part may be missing the point, unless the method acting

results in real compassion.

The holistic nature of healing for humans isn't about to change any time soon.

[Holmes]

It's easy to

understand the Doc's position though. After innumerable sick people have been through your door it can be hard to

feel much of anything.

Good point. My previous GP was overworked to the extent that it always felt

like I was there to make him feel better. :lol:

Relatedly, I can't imagine working as a mental

healthcare professional, being exposed to the constant, steady stream of bad news - all day long, day in and day

out. I don't know how they do it and still manage to show any compassion, heartfelt or feigned.




Mostly care providers need to go into their profession with the right attitude, and

continue to foster and develop it. A modicum of real compassion and empathy are essential to healing (to

communication, diagnosis, and patient compliance, as well as healing proper). They are skills, and can be learned;

even mastered within one's role. It's possible to retain compassion regardless of momentary emotions and

stressors.

That's a tough one for most, though - even highly-trained, handsomely-rewarded pros.

Or, should I say, especially highly trained, handsomely-rewarded pros.

But yeah, it starts with the

right attitude. Which (I've learned) is hard to come by, as not everyone gets into medicine for the purity

of altruism. :p

(It doesn't help matters that we, as a nation, tend to (blindly) deify members of the

medical profession...)