What is the physician’s role regarding empathy? The words “empathy” and “physician” go hand-in-hand with our expectations of the world today. From weeding through the applications of potential medical students to a patient evaluating which attending physician they may want as their primary care doctor, empathy is viewed as a necessity in the eyes of all, though its direct role has more layers than haphazardly applying it as a medical truism.
Firstly, it is necessary to define what empathy is in itself, with a study by Hemmerdinger providing this initial explanation: “Empathy is a personality trait that enables one to identify with another’s situation, thoughts, or condition by placing oneself in their situation” (Hemmerdinger, 2007). So to account for these aspects, it is necessary for physicians to not only treat a patient for some ailment but to also imagine themselves in such a position through identification. Doing this mental exercise allows the physician to treat the patient with high regard, no matter who they are, by displacing the idea that the patient’s background has any significance more than a standard: the physician as oneself. One knows oneself the most, and so to apply that knowledge and expectation to those who will be affected by one’s actions, then exemplary care will be provided in an effort to not want to harm oneself. This allows the physician to understand the patient in the role of the patient.
This base definition is a start, but it is significant to now displace the idea of empathy from solely the selfish view of understanding others as oneself; in the end, the patient will be looking for care that applies to their domain, which is exemplified by Stefanello: “By recognizing and valuing the uniqueness of each patient’s existential perspective, the empathic doctor should be able to develop a highly specific therapeutic plan” (Stefanello, 2021). With this further development in the role of empathy for a physician, not only can the physician use the imagined change of perspective for understanding, but also treatment decisions, which is the assumed main goal for a physician: make the patient better in the most beneficial way possible.
So far, this understanding of empathy remains largely in the logical domain in an effort to better the patient through physician-attempted situational projection onto themselves. An interesting phenomenon that also encompasses this idea is mentioned in a journal article by Betzler: “‘Detached concern’ expresses the idea that physicians should avoid emotional involvement with their patients while at the same time retaining interest in patients and care for their well-being [which was] the dominant mode of interaction between physician and patient throughout much of the twentieth century” (Betzler, 2018). This logical role of detached concern does in fact get the job done as a physician to help the patient with their ailment, but in modern-day medicine, this approach would not be satisfactory for all.
Moving on from the logical assessment of using empathy for understanding the patient in the role of the patient and then using that understanding to effectively treat the patient, empathy has a further level of emotional standard. According to a study by Decenty, “In healthy volunteers, numerous fMRI studies have shown that the perception and even imagination of another’s suffering leads to an increase in hemodynamic activity in [the insula and cingulate cortices]” (Decety, 2020). It is known that the inner cortices of the brain (cingulate and insula) are the parts where emotional application and understanding occur. The fact of empathy residing here allows one to solidify its significance beyond the logical means of being useful for only treating the patient. In this way of emotion, empathy not only serves as a bridge to connect the patient and the physician beyond the clinical relationship but also allows physicians to better themselves in a way that is beyond the textbook. Through empathy, physicians not only become better doctors but also better people because of its basis in emotion.
The resources I have researched have led me to the idea of empathy as an emotional connection to make a bridge for my understanding of the patient in their role for the combined outcome of patient betterment and physician self-improvement. Using empathy in this way will make patients want to come to my future practice because they will feel heard and understood regarding their physiological concerns. But beyond that, the role of empathy will give patients a level of trust in me that goes further than the helper-and-person-in-need relationship. Physicians should be considered leaders in their communities, people whom others can look up to, and advocates for health-related issues. These attributes do not come with a white coat and a pledge to do good onto others but instead transgress from personal growth that comes from being empathetic to all who come one’s way.
Works Cited
Betzler, R. J. (2018). How to clarify the aims of empathy in medicine. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 21(4), 569–582. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-018-9833-2
Decety, J. (2020). Empathy in medicine: What it is, and how much we really need it. The American Journal of Medicine, 133(5), 561–566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2019.12.012
Hemmerdinger, J. M., Stoddart, S. D., & Lilford, R. J. (2007). A systematic review of tests of empathy in medicine. BMC Medical Education, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-7-24
Stefanello, E. (2021). Your pain is not mine: A critique of Clinical Empathy. Bioethics, 36(5), 486–493. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.12980