scholarly journals Empathy as a Desideratum in Health Care – Normative Claim or Professional Competence?

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-375
Author(s):  
Thiemo Breyer ◽  
Anna Storms
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Theoretical Level ◽  
Normative Claim ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Narrative Process ◽  
Interpersonal Engagement ◽  
Affective Process

Abstract This article investigates the possible functions of empathic interpersonal engagement in the context of medicine and health care. While empathy can be understood in different ways on a theoretical level – as an embodied process of resonance and synchronization, as an affective process of emotional sharing, as a cognitive process of understanding the other, or as a narrative process of externalizing and communicating personal experiences – it is often called for on a normative level as a desideratum in the competence of medical professionals. We address this issue by introducing different models of the relationality between doctors and patients, in order to clarify which dimensions of empathy are relevant in which model and raise the question whether empathy is more than a nice-to-have virtue on the side of the professionals.

Neurologist, 27 years’ experience, South Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 252-256
Author(s):  
Markus Reuber ◽  
Gregg H. Rawlings ◽  
Steven C. Schachter
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professional ◽  
Medical Condition ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Detailed Explanation ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Professional People

This chapter looks at the personal experience of a Neurologist in caring for people with Non-Epileptic Seizures (NES) and illustrates the profession’s shortcomings. Like every other patient who presents to a health care professional, people with NES want a clear diagnosis, with a detailed explanation of how and why they developed the condition, and a clear therapeutic plan. Although there are limits to the understanding of NES, that may also be said of all medical conditions. Since emotionally difficult, deeply personal experiences typically lie at the heart of their condition, people with NES need no less empathy and understanding than any other person with a medical condition. However, numerous patients have recounted stories about how they abandoned the medical profession for help with their seizures after their experience of seeing a neurologist. The amount of harm done by medical professionals in the way that they interact with people with NES has yet to be quantified.

The Impact of War on Population Health

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Turkan Ahmet
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Physical Environments ◽  
The Social ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
The Impact

The past few decades of ongoing war in Iraq has had a dramatic impact on the health of Iraq’s population. Wars are known to have negative effects on the social and physical environments of individuals, as well as limit their access to the available health care services. This paper explores the personal experiences of my family members, who were exposed to war, as well as includes information that has been reviewed form many academic sources. The data aided in providing recommendations and developing strategies, on both local and international levels, to improve the health status of the populations exposed to war.

scholarly journals Plain Talk About Health: Linguistic Aspects of Mediation between Amish and Mennonites and Health Care Professionals

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Mark L. Louden
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
Pennsylvania Dutch ◽  
Old Order ◽  
Cultural Mediator

As the population of Amish and Old Order Mennonites grows exponentially, so are the contacts between Plain people and medical professionals increasing. All Plain adults are bilingual; however, the fact that the primary everyday language for most is Pennsylvania Dutch is important for understanding how they navigate the health care system. In this article I give an overview of language-related questions involved in communication between Plain people and health care providers with a focus on three areas: translation, interpretation, and patterns of language use. Much of the information I present in this article is drawn from my experience as an interpreter and cultural mediator for Plain people in a number of different public spheres, mainly health care.

Premature Infants in Car Seats

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-339
Author(s):  
Marilyn J. Bull ◽  
Karen Bruner Stroup
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Premature Infants ◽  
Minimum Weight ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Child Safety ◽  
Low Birth Weight Infant ◽  
Safety Standards ◽  
Car Seats ◽  
Car Safety ◽  
Good Support

Advancements in health care have made it possible for many premature infants weighing less than 2.2 kg (5 lb) to be discharged from the hospital. Medical professionals, however, have no information available from which to make recommendations on which child safety seats are most appropriate for safely transporting the low-birth-weight infant. Current federal safety standards do not specify the minimum weight of an infant for which a seat is appropriate. The suitability of various types of infant car safety seats for premature infants was documented by placing 2.0-kg (4 lb 8 oz) babies in a representative sample of seat models. Ease and ability of the seat to fit the size of the infant and allow for proper positioning of the baby was noted. Each seat was measured from the seat back to crotch strap and shoulder strap to seat bottom to provide a basis for comparison of various seat models. Convertible seats with seat back to crotch strap height of 14 cm (5½ in) or less provided relatively good support for the infant. Seats with longer seat back to crotch strap distances allowed the infant to slouch. Seats with lap pads or shields were uniformly unacceptable.

Cross-Cultural Decision-Making in Healthcare

2018 ◽  
pp. 276-298
Author(s):  
Tomasz Komendziński ◽  
Emilia Mikołajewska ◽  
Dariusz Mikołajewski
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Common System ◽  
Personal Experiences

This chapter describes how people are connected to each other through a common system of encoding and decoding messages. Opening the European gate has made intercultural communication omnipresent, and this includes health care. Internationally-based tasks need new, culture-aware medical practitioners. The challenges, barriers, and solutions in the aforementioned area based on the personal experiences of the authors. The chapter concludes that in spite of personal experience, intercultural tension continues to be a major hinderance to patient healthcare services.

Cross-Cultural Decision-Making in Healthcare

2021 ◽  
pp. 1805-1827
Author(s):  
Tomasz Komendziński ◽  
Emilia Mikołajewska ◽  
Dariusz Mikołajewski
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Common System ◽  
Personal Experiences

This chapter describes how people are connected to each other through a common system of encoding and decoding messages. Opening the European gate has made intercultural communication omnipresent, and this includes health care. Internationally-based tasks need new, culture-aware medical practitioners. The challenges, barriers, and solutions in the aforementioned area based on the personal experiences of the authors. The chapter concludes that in spite of personal experience, intercultural tension continues to be a major hinderance to patient healthcare services.

Management Skills and Leadership

2015 ◽  
pp. 182-205
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Medical Professional ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Managerial Skills ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Modern Health Care ◽  
Peculiar Nature

The purpose of this chapter is to explore why juggling all the different and demanding roles of a medical professional is by no means an easy task. Perhaps the biggest challenge for doctors is time management and multitasking. Much of this is part and parcel of an ordinary doctor's life, but due to the peculiar nature and complex paradigms of modern health care services, special emphasis must be put on empowering fledgling medical professionals with such managerial skills. Resident medical physicians and surgeons should at least be aware of the countless opportunities available as well as how to get the best out of them.

scholarly journals Journey of the Patient With Melanoma: Understanding Resource Use and Bridging the Gap Between Dermatologist, Surgeon, and Oncologist in Different Health Care Systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Cássia Rita Pereira da Veiga ◽  
Claudimar Pereira da Veiga ◽  
Ana Paula Drummond-Lage ◽  
Alberto Julius Alves Wainstein ◽  
Andreia Cristina de Melo
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Clinical Procedures ◽  
Care Systems

PURPOSE New scientific evidence has led to modifications in the clinical practice of handling melanoma. In health care systems, there is currently a wide variety of clinical procedures to treat cancer, and the various routes have different effects on the survival of patients with cancer. Thus, this article aimed to evaluate the journey of patients with melanoma in the public and private health care systems in Brazil from the viewpoint of different medical professionals involved in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. The study also considers the resources used for the complete delivery cycle of health care at different stages of the evolution of melanoma. METHODS We conducted a behavioral study by applying a questionnaire to a group of medical professionals. A nonprobabilistic sampling method for convenience was used, justified by the heterogeneous national incidence and the limited availability of medical professionals who diagnose and treat melanoma. RESULTS The questionnaire was answered by 138 doctors, including doctors from the Brazilian states with the highest concentration of medical specialists and regions with a higher melanoma incidence. The results of this study have the potential to enrich our understanding of the reality of Brazilian health care systems and, at the same time, allow us to discuss the multiple ways in which professionals from diverse specialist fields understand and explain decision making in health care. CONCLUSION Health care decision making is complex and, among other factors, depends on the diversity of available health resources and the knowledge of which treatments provide the greatest benefit to patients and greatest value to the system as a whole. This work can inform debates and reflection that are applicable not only in Brazil, but also in various other countries with similar realities.

“I Can Understand Where They’re Coming From”: How Clinicians’ Disability Experiences Shape Their Interaction With Clients

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (13) ◽  
pp. 2064-2076
Author(s):  
Alfiya Battalova ◽  
Laura Bulk ◽  
Laura Nimmon ◽  
Rachelle Hole ◽  
Terry Krupa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Health Programs ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Health Care Workforce ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Care Culture ◽  
Building Rapport ◽  
Health Care Culture

Students and clinicians with disabilities are underrepresented in the academic health programs and professional clinical settings. Disability studies foregrounds the unique ways of knowing and being that clinicians with disabilities can offer. Based on a larger grounded theory study of the experiences of students and clinicians with disabilities, this article examines the role that clinicians’ abilities to draw on their personal experiences of living with a disability have on their interactions with clients. The analysis of semistructured interviews with 55 students and clinicians with disabilities from different fields contributes to the development of a theory of epistemic connection. The theory is informed by the following three themes: (a) building rapport through understanding, (b) from understanding to advocacy and creative approaches, and (c) between professionalism and disability. The findings emphasize not only the importance of diversifying the health care workforce but also incorporating disability epistemology into the health care culture.

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