Studying Shakespeare could help medical students connect with patients: A palliative care doctor has suggested that studying Shakespeare’s plays could help medical students connect more closely with their patients. Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Dr David Jeffrey, of the Department of Palliative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, investigates how the playwright’s empathic approach – the […]
It’s just common sense that doctors who have empathy make better doctors. However, until now, the benefit to patients has not been quantified, which makes it difficult for doctors and quality controllers to put a value on being nice. For our research paper, which is published in the latest issue of the Journal of the […]
How did Diana learn to become the ‘Queen of Hearts’ for the marginalised and unloved? Nurse Helen Cowan says she has met nurses and carers who shared her endless empathy born out of personal suffering. In the controversial Channel 4 documentary, “Diana: In her own words”, the Princess was portrayed as somebody more comfortable sitting […]
Empathy in clinical practice is an essential component of the doctor-patient relationship. This is the understanding of how another human being is feeling without going through the emotional rollercoaster yourself. Unfortunately, however, it is often lacking. Indeed, studies of medical undergraduate education reveal some evidence that there is a decline in empathy as students move […]
It does concern me when I see a nurse brushing off a patient or ignoring little signs of distress. It doesn’t happen often, but compassion fatigue can creep in at the end of a long shift. Compassion and empathy are one of the most important aspects of any job in medicine. Certainly, a nurse who […]
A few years ago, as I was attending a medical dinner in London with 500 or more senior medical colleagues, I was disturbed that the guest of honour began his speech with the phrase: ‘We all understand that the most important ‘qualities’ of any doctor are compassion and empathy.’ I was even more concerned that there appeared […]