Empathy, Resilience, and Patient Empowerment in Medical School

Hi everyone,

In this week's newsletter, I'm going to be talking about the importance of teaching empathy, resilience, and patient empowerment in medical school.

As you know, I recently completed my master's thesis on this topic. In my research, I interviewed a number of patients with chronic conditions, as well as medical students and doctors.

What I found was that patients with chronic conditions often feel like they are not being heard or understood by their doctors. They feel like their doctors are not taking the time to really listen to their concerns and to understand their individual experiences.

This lack of empathy can have a significant impact on the patient's health and well-being. It can lead to feelings of frustration, isolation, and despair. It can also make it more difficult for patients to adhere to their treatment plans.

In addition to empathy, resilience and patient empowerment are also essential for patients with chronic conditions. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from challenges. Patient empowerment is the ability to take control of one's own health care.

Medical schools need to do a better job of teaching these skills to their students. Doctors who are empathetic, resilient, and patient-empowering are more likely to provide better care for their patients.

I believe that teaching these skills in medical school would have a significant impact on the lives of patients with chronic conditions. It would help to improve communication between patients and doctors, and it would help patients to feel more in control of their own health care.

I hope you will join me in calling on medical schools to make empathy, resilience, and patient empowerment a priority in their curriculum.

Futrher reading:



Thanks for reading,

Roi

P.S. If you have any thoughts or feedback on this topic, please feel free to share them in the comments below.