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Empathy: The Most Critical Skill in Medicine

— Caring for a patient means putting yourself in their shoes

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Hi, everyone. You're tuning in to our MedPage podcast, Anamnesis. I'm your host, Amy Ho. And we are deep into Season 2!

By way of brief introduction, I'm a practicing ER physician with an ear for narrative medicine -- that is, storytelling in medicine. This can be the stories of patients (which we are so often privileged to be entrusted with). This can be the stories of families. This can be the stories of us -- healthcare workers.

On Anamnesis we feature three stories of a particular theme, told by us -- people in medicine -- to feature one of the aspects of medicine that's as intangible as is it powerful. The things that keep us coming back for more, that keep us laughing, crying, thinking, and feeling.

For today's episode, there are few things more core to the pillars of medicine than the concept of "empathy." Now empathy is something we hear about from day one in medical school, nursing school, or PA school. Hey, it's even something we hear in pre-med! It's probably something we even wrote about in our admissions essays. And that's because empathy is a critical part of care. You cannot care for a patient if you cannot relate, commiserate, and feel with them.

There is an extreme distinction between empathy versus, say, sympathy. Because empathy is understanding and sharing the feelings of another person -- it's putting yourself in their shoes and feeling what they feel. Sympathy is understanding, but from your own perspective, in your own shoes.

Medicine is ultimately a collaboration between the provider and the patient. It shouldn't be about us doing things to a patient, it's about mapping out a journey of care that best fits their needs. To do that, you need to understand their needs and have empathy for them.

We have an excellent episode for you today, with three storytellers who have their own stories of empathy, all with a different spin on how it came out to them.

Chapter 1. 'Can You Explain Why You're Sending Me to the ICU?' (2:57): Doctor-turned-patient reflects on empathy in medicine after the harrowing birth of her child. Story by Lauren Rissman, MD.

Chapter 2. It Isn't the Dead Child Who Haunts Me (21:31): A doctor is reminded of an intern's reaction often. Story by Maryanne Chrisant, MD.

Chapter 3. Treating Cancer Patients 'Like Cattle About to Be Slaughtered' (42:33): What "heartless" oncology in Russia taught this doctor. Story by Vadim Gushchin, MD.

Episode produced by Amanda D'Ambrosio

Hosted by Amy Ho, MD

Sound engineering by

Theme music by Palomar

Want to share your story? Read the Anamnesis Storyteller Tip Sheet and when you're ready, apply here!