Teaching Empathy In Health Care

As a member of the medical profession, it is painful to see a progressive decline in empathy and conscientiousness in recent years among healthcare providers especially among new doctors. Medicine is a service career and what the patients need are compassionate, conscientious and caring doctors who will be role models for all other health care providers. The noble dictum of service above self  seems to have been replaced by the new order of self first before others.  This is the major motivation why I have been teaching Medical Ethics for the last 9 years.

Virtues Of A Healthcare Professional

Virtues are defined as positive traits of character to think and act in ways that are good. It is to do what is morally right. I will not attempt to discuss the concept or philosophy of virtues as a whole, that is not my area of expertise.  But I have been in the health care industry  and teaching profession long enough to know that the character of a person is not given much weight in the evaluation process for entrance to medical or nursing schools, nor is it given much focus in the teaching curriculum.  This lack of emphasis is in my opinion, a big oversight on the part of medical/nursing schools and residency programs.

Damn If You Do, Damn If You Don't!

I have been feeling really down the past few days.

I now know what it feels like to be hated and maligned. In my adult life, in spite of my candid nature, I have tried to make a conscious effort not to offend people...unfortunately, inadvertently in my work and the position I hold I cannot totally avoid it. I am often misunderstood and my good intentions become suspect. I know that what ever I do, I will never be able to please everyone in my life and I will be stepping on some people's toes. It's damn if you do, damn if you don't!  Well, this fact is more true now than at any other point in my life.  In the last four years there are 2 people who have manifested in more ways than one that they hate my guts and would be ecstatically happy if I fall flat on my face. They have tried their utmost to embarrass me and soil my reputation and good name...why? Because they perceived that I have wronged them. I suspect that one very devious person who seems innocent enough but who probably resents me just as much as the other two is conniving with them. There is really nothing much that I can do except be true to the purity of my intentions...I can only pray for a positive outcome for myself. Anyway, I came across this poem while browsing...and boy, did it make me feel good! It was written by Rudyard Kipling and reading it, I felt somewhat relieved. I'm posting it here...maybe someone with a problem or concern will read it...and feel comforted...like me.