Probably all of us want to be heard and understood by those around us. A challenge in medicine is to overcome our biases and approach patients who may be very different from you, both in terms of their background, their values and life choices, with a sense of compassion and empathy. Failure to meet this challenge likely has significant impacts on medical care and health outcomes. For example, a patient detects disapproval or indifference in her provider, she is less likely to be honest, open and compliant with her provider. In a commencement address at UCLA Medical School in 2018, Atul Gawande vividly described these issues.
The Importance of Empathy in Medicine