I recently had a not-so-great experience at the doctor office. A couple of weeks ago, I went to a specialist with some health issues that were concerning, and both the doctor and her staff made me feel silly for being nervous. There were a few instances where I felt as if I wasn’t being listened to and was being patronized for feeling scared. It was as if the specialist and her staff were lacking empathy.
I have a feeling we all can relate to this. If you’re scared about something, one of the worst things that could happen is to have someone who can actually help (a doctor or nurse or dentist or hygienist) coming across as if she doesn’t care about your concerns. It is so disheartening to be dismissed when looking to a healthcare provider for answers.
Empathy is something in which everyone could use a good refresher. I know I absolutely need to check myself every once in a while. Kasley Killam from the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkley, writes that communication in the doctor’s office is a hot topic right now and added that the quality of physician-patient interactions in care has been declining. “Empathy in a clinical context,” she writes, “is the physician’s ability to understand patients’ emotions, which can facilitate more accurate diagnoses and more caring treatment. But empathy differs from sympathy, or sharing patients’ emotions, which instead can hinder objective diagnoses and effective treatment.”
In his article “Ethics, Empathy, and the Education of Dentists,” David. A Nash writes that empathy is a moral imperative in caring for patients. “Empathy has been repeatedly affirmed as an imperative for the humane physician in the doctor-patient relationship,” he writes. “Distinguished medical educator Edmund Pellegrino expressed it directly in his Humanism and the Physician: “We must be dedicated to behaviors that reflect sincere concern and care for our patients, a caring that respects the freedom, dignity, and belief system of the individual, and a caring that manifests itself in a sensitive, non-humiliating and empathetic way of helping.’
“The cardinal quality of the professional relationship is trust,” he continues. “Professions are professions because of the power differential that exists between them and those seeking their help. Such power, based in the professionals’ knowledge and skills, requires that those seeking their help trust that health professionals will always use the power they possess in their patients’ best interest. To do so requires an empathic disposition. Patients seek the care of a dentist to assist them in gaining the benefits of oral health. Embedded in patients’ behavior is the expectation that they can trust the dentist to always act in doing what is best for their oral health—to always help and never to harm. Empathy on the part of the dentist is a prerequisite for such moral professional behavior. Professional ethics, as well as the golden rule, requires that dentists “treat their patients as they would want to be treated.” Who would want to have less than appropriate treatment provided for them by a health professional from whom they seek care?”
After reading Nash’s explanation for why empathy is necessary in the medical profession, I realize now that the reason I was upset by my recent medical care provider experience is because I don’t feel as if they will do what is best for my health. Medical care provider-patient relationships are so important, and a good one will keep your patients coming back through your door year after year. Treat others as you would like to be treated is a lesson I think all of us should learn and practice. After dealing with the doctor’s office, I now have a new, fresh perspective on what empathy means. From here on out, I’ll be trying as hard as I can to practice empathy in my every-day interactions, and I encourage everyone—both medical providers and not—to as well.
- Exit Interviews: Get it in Writing - October 30, 2019
- Vaping Possible Suspect in Wisconsin teens’ hospitalization - October 23, 2019
- What to Do About Negative Reviews Online - October 16, 2019