Posted by admin in Results of a new study show that more often than not, doctors do not show much empathy to their patients
Doctors fail to show empathy to their patients more often than not according to the results of a new study.
For their study, researchers analyzed taped recordings taken from a Veterans Affairs hospital featuring doctors talking with lung cancer patients.
In total, more than 380 chances to apply empathy were identified by the researchers, but only 39 opportunities were taken by the doctors.
“They really responded more to the concrete patient concerns and not so much to their existential fears about living and dying,” says lead author Diane Morse, assistant professor of psychiatry and of medicine at the University of Rochester in New York. “I think doctors themselves can feel vulnerable about the issue of death and dying. It is a scary subject, especially if it’s someone who has cancer and is close to their own age.”
Patients who are shown empathy by their doctors are more likely to understand their condition better, and feel better about treatment options that are given by the doctor according to previous studies.
The study can be found in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
