Can Empathy be Thought? I precept sixth year Pharmacy students, for many of them my rotation is the first time they interact directly with patients. I often wonder if they can truly empathize with an older patient? The students get younger every year or maybe it is that I get older every year. When you are so young and healthy, can you put yourself in some one else’s shoes? Someone older, with co-morbidities and suffer from pain?
Many of my patients often experience, financial difficulties, food insecurity, homelessness and psychiatric problems. We also have patients from many different cultures, who speak many languages and many religious backgrounds. While some of my students have a diverse cultural and even language background, many have not experienced firsthand financial difficulties, food insecurities or being homeless. Is hard for students to really listen patients but is even harder to empathetically listen.
Students get very wrapped up in what they need to do during the visit, they often don’t listen to the patients even when they are providing relevant information for their treatment. Having empathy can improve the relationships you have with your patients, it allows them to feel more comfortable sharing information with you and creates trust.
See the patient as human being and not a disease state.
As students first start interacting with patients, they are encouraged to ask patients about their social situation. Support system, family members, barriers and health goals. Noting milestones in patients lives, trying to work with the patient, their preferences and what is important to them and respecting their right to make informed decisions. Asking the patient if you can give them information, giving them recommendations, making sure they know which one is the one you strongly recommend and the reasons why.
Take time to know your patient.
Taking an extra minute to know your patient, asking how they are doing in general not just medically. Patients will see this as you are being interested in them and not just one more patient.
Make Eye contact.
Making eye contact is very important, students sometimes get so over anxious that they may miss something that they get very involved in typing or writing down everything the patient says that they miss physical cues. Patient’s physical language can say so much more than what the patient may be telling you. Not only can you learn a lot from the patient’s body language, they in turn can read so much into your physical language. If your back is to the patient, they may see it as disrespect or not caring enough ta take a moment to really talk to them.
Put yourself in their shoes.
While this one maybe harder, it helps if the students have family members such as parents or grandparents who have health issues and have seen how this effect their quality of life. Many schools or preceptors will ask students to become the diabetic patients, having to manage more than four to five medications, some with insulin and having to check their blood sugars for a few days. Many students came back with real good idea about what patients must do to get their blood sugars under control.
Show support.
Let the patient know you can see that they are upset, understand if they are going through a rough time and you care and will try to help them as much as you can as their health provider. Make sure to not judge the patient, most patients fear that they will be judge by their health care providers and may not be forthcoming with information.
Empathy used to be called “bed side manner”, Studies have linked empathy to greater patient satisfaction, better outcomes, decreased health care burnout, and a lower risk of malpractice suits and errors. While some people are naturally caring and empathetic, empathy can be thought, is a cognitive attribute and not a personality trait. Empathy helps build a relationship with the patient, it will help communicate better and improve outcomes.
