“ Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio describes emotions as the "continuous musical line of our minds, the unstoppable humming." This basso continuo thrums along while doctors make a steady stream of conscio… Danielle Ofri
“ But at the most basic level, doctors need to be able to come forward with their errors and near-misses, otherwise we will never know where the problems lay. Danielle Ofri
“ Burnout also leads to a large swath of physicians who aren't as empathetic toward their patients as they could be. Danielle Ofri
“ But I realized that not only did I need to keep tuning my skills as a doctor, I also had to figure out a way to live with the uncertainty of medicine and its attendant anxiety. Danielle Ofri
“ What these older physicians exhibited is termed clinical curiosity. They stroke to understand their patients in order to elucidate the underlying medical conditions. This thoroughness, patience, and d… Danielle Ofri
“ Hospital life--with its byzantine array of moving parts layered atop the unpredictable rhythms of illness--is a permanent state of flux. Danielle Ofri
“ But while the patient does bear some responsibility, I believe that the onus falls more heavily on the doctor to be attuned to the factors--cultural, ethnic, or just personal style--that influence how… Danielle Ofri
“ It can be rough going to maintain both composure and empathy in these situations, but a doctor's failure to do that is probably the number one reason why patients feel dissatisfied with their physicia… Danielle Ofri
“ In general, empathy is easier the more we can identify with someone. When we can genuinely envision ourselves in a situation, it's possible to intuit what that person's suffering might feel like. Danielle Ofri
“ Empathy requires being attuned to the patient's perspective and understanding how the illness is woven into this particular persons' life. Last--and this is where doctors often stumble--empathy requir… Danielle Ofri
“ Empathy--the ability to identify with someone else's suffering--is certainly a prerequisite for a genuine apology. Danielle Ofri
“ Grief ate at these doctors, distracting them from both their families and their patients. Many reported withdrawing from emotional involvement with their patients and that their patients had noticed t… Danielle Ofri
“ How the sadness is handled by the physician has a powerful impact on the medical care received by the patients. If the grief is relentlessly suppressed--as in Eva's experience during residency--the re… Danielle Ofri
“ The very fact that these doctors continuing to be doctors--highly successful ones--despite their errors and their accompanying assaults on their self-definion would itself be a potent lesson to the st… Danielle Ofri
“ Suddenly, I was plunged back into an avid learning environment, starting at the bottom and working my way painstakingly up the mountain. The thrill of learning and accomplishing stimulated me so much… Danielle Ofri
