Showing clinical empathy to patients can improve their satisfaction of care, motivate them to stick to their treatment plans and lower malpractice complaints, found a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
What did I think when I read this?
You don’t say!
I mean, seriously, empathy’s a good thing?? But then, I looked again, and there was a little extra word in there which disturbed me…..and several days later, it’s disturbing me still. Can you guess which word is bothering me?
“clinical”
What, oh what, is “clinical empathy”? Maybe I’m a bit odd this way, but you know what? I care about every single patient I see. I just do. I want to help them. I feel for them. Nobody taught me this. I became a doctor because of it. It wasn’t something to include in my curriculum. Surely that’s not odd. It’s certainly not uncommon amongst the doctors I know and work with.
Here’s my question. Why would anyone want to be a doctor if they didn’t care?
OK, you’ll probably come up with a ton of reasons, but if you could choose, next time you need to see a doctor, wouldn’t you rather choose one who connected with you, who understood you (or at least tried to understand you), over one who didn’t?
It’s not my experience I’m unusual. But in my experience, it’s not something which seems to be particularly valued in health care. “Outcomes” are rarely anything to do with caring, empathy, or relationship. I really hope that’s changing. Let’s not modify “empathy” by calling it “clinical empathy”, let’s value and encourage the practice of giving a damn.
(The Scottish government is rolling out through the whole of the NHS in Scotland a measure called “CQI-2”, a measure of the “Consultation Quality”, to capture patient’s experiences of compassion, caring “enablement”. That’s an important step. It’ll be an even more important step if we connect it to funding decisions. )
Heroes Not Zombies 
http://www.peh-med.com/content/4/1/11
I thought this was an interesting look at the subject. Its a complex area , particularly in hospitals where protocols often lead to ‘standardised ‘ one size fits all approaches – people often become objects in this approach. I don’t think the modern GP approach of just seeing any Dr helps much , particularly in busy practices. I remember being treated by different types of Drs…the difference an empathic (not just words but the handling ) approach makes is visceral (probably measurable too). Perhaps, in the scientific/techno era programmes like the Horizon one on pain last week might help?
can i throw in a couple of points here, just ideas, i think it is a complex area, and is not. as banal as it sounds,
people are objectified each and everyday in ways that include language but also escape language.
when an issue has reached the level of representation it is no longer an issue in relation to that which was unrepresented beforehand- codified/ uncodified. the issue itself changes when it becomes known through words, more so when those words are recognised by the public realm as having relevance.
at the same time, i think most people start off understanding what care means, in themselves.
you could look at this critically, historically, sociologically, ie human beings can be quite s**** to each other.
at the off, i go towards care. care. not in a commodified sense, how can someone care for someone else when a sense of profit lingers?
but care, as in care for other people you do not know?
have never met. someone open to others.
[…] just written a post about the importance of caring in health care, last night, I opened a novel to start reading it, and here’s what I read […]
I have to assume this has been often ignored because it is so hard to measure, so dependent on independent practice and oh so hard to charge for.
Could the term “clinical empathy’ be attempting to actually define best practice for empathy? Given the different skill sets we all have the ability to show you give a damn is often very different from whether you actually do or not. I’m wondering what actions or expressions actually deliver the patient outcomes.