What Does Empathy Contribute in This Age of Science and Technology?
Not only a form of knowledge but a skill that can be practiced and mastered, empathy consists of observation, listening, introspection, and deliberation repeated in cycles as needed to come to a conclusion. It is a cognitive process that acknowledges competing interests in a respectful nonjudgmental way. Its manifestation is that of the provider being fully present but without the emotional complications of concern or pity. Why should we, as physicians, bother with adding the skill of empathy to our clinical armamentarium?
Modern society needs empathy to understand the events and consequences that occur in our lives and the choices we must make. Witness the popularity of Atul Gawande’s latest book, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.10 The book is intensely personal and thought provoking, and the end-of-life issues Gawande discusses are true to the challenges faced by patients and their caretakers. We may be the caretakers now, but we will all be the patient at some point in our lives. I suggest reading (or rereading) the book and considering whether some of the troubling stories Gawande tells might have been improved if empathy had been present.
If you are having trouble getting in touch with your empathy, the Cleveland Clinic created a powerful video about empathy and patient care that might be helpful (https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=cDDWvj_q-o8).
Be present today, be open to yourself, and be open to the others around you. Let me know if it makes a difference.
