Monday, May 18, 2009

Empathy

In the chapter on empathy, Daniel Pink mentions how "[e]mpathy can be a powerful force in medicine" (169). Read this article from The New York Times about a doctor who takes time for empathy and how she is rewarded. Have you had an experience with an empathetic physician? Conversely, have you have an experience with a doctor who was not empathetic? How did these experiences make you feel? How does empathy figure in your own daily life with your students, co-workers, etc?

4 comments:

  1. Sad, but true!! Just as teachers express concerns about having enough time, so do doctors. This is why I prefer the physician assistants and nurse practitioners, because they do take the time to really listen.

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  2. I always think I have empathy except as a teacher. I liked the article because it was about time management. I don't have time because I have to get through the content. Yet I probably would get just as much done if I listend. Listening is the first step in being an empathetic teacher.

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  3. It truly is sad that we are amazed if a doctor spends more than 1 minute with us or even asks us any poignant question. A few years back I had a reoccuring health issue and had been to several doctors with no success. I finally visited a doctor who insisted on meeting with me in his office for a full 1/2 hour just to talk(I had never heard of such a thing!). It comes as no surprise to me that he was the doctor that was able to cure my ailment and put me on the road to health. We need more doctors like (and the one from this article) this and I am so pleased to hear that many medical schools are making this an integral part of their program.

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  4. Peg, your comment is so true. We are, as educators, stressed by the demands of our work. But what students have to say matters so much. Thank you for sharing.

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