Tag: compassion
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Retirement reflections: from code to compassion with Chloe
Gregory Rutecki Cleveland, Ohio, United States Daphnis & Chloe, by Henry Woods, R.A William May and Samuel Shem have described inadequacies of doctor-patient relationships that are characterized as code models.1,2 May observed that these medical codes binding patients and their physicians together shape relationships similar to habits or rules, are aesthetic, and value style over…
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Where doctors cannot reach: Tales from a British High Street
Suchita Shah Oxford, United Kingdom Spring High Street, Oxford, England, 2018. Photography: Suchita Shah © 2018 Suchita Shah “I wonder if it’s contagious?” In a tiny shop on a middling-sized street in my city, a handful of women and I were immersed in a springtime ritual of beautification and small talk: haircutting. One woman…
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Cultivating clinical compassion with cultural encounters
Jeffrey Lee Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Sunset along the beaches of Sant Antoni de Calonge The calm waves of the Mediterranean played a lullaby as I walked along the beach, the fine-grained sand gently caressing my toes. I noticed a small group of women massaging each other’s backs. I awkwardly watched them from the…
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Compassion and the art of medicine
Michael Vassallo Bournemouth, United Kingdom Is medicine an art or a science? As a medical student embarking on a journey, the answer seemed obvious. I was one of a unanimous chorus of students confidently claiming science as the answer to this trick question. My mum, however, told me “to be kind and smile, appearing…
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Humanism in medicine
Annie Yeh Louisiana, New Orleans, USA As medical students, we are taught the “art of medicine” and the importance of gathering a thorough patient history. “Ninety percent of your diagnosis comes from the history,” we are told. And to do so, we must establish a rapport with our patients. We enter the lives of…
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Two Scottish tales of medical compassion
James L. Franklin Chicago, Illinois, United States Dr. John Raffensberger has served both a literary and humanistic cause by placing in our hands two stories that highlight the most admired traits in a physician, the traits of empathy and understanding that patients and their families require. This slim but handsome volume brings together two…