Feeling helpless and alone on a cold, rigid hospital bed, patients often look to their physician to provide them with solace and comfort, however, some unfortunate patients are faced with what the New York Times (2005) calls the “bane of the medical profession: the difficult doctor.” These physicians patronize their patients and speak to them condescendingly during their time of tribulation, and it has deep and intense repercussions for them. Not only is this incredibly unprofessional but it is not something a patient wants to hear when disclosing personal, intimate details of their life. Patient care and consideration does not stop when the surgery or procedure is over. The handling of an individual’s emotional state, post operation is just as important as the operation itself in the overall recovery of the patient. Patients leave angry, humiliated, and with more insecurities than they came in with. The analysis of the 1991 film The Doctor, starring William Hurt and Elizabeth Perkins, will consider appropriate health communication techniques that resonate well with patients. The film’s protagonist, Dr. Jack McKee, does not use suitable techniques that his patients appreciate. The first and second body paragraphs will investigate respectable socialization and strong patient-caregiver bonds and how they are pivotal to achieving solid results with patients. The third and final body paragraphs will examine what changes Dr. McKee makes to his practice that better reflect the
Marcus Engel emphasized on communication and empathy when dealing with patients in his book, I’m Here: Compassionate Communication in Patient Care. As he struggled to cope with his hospital stay, certain health care providers helped him improve his mental and physical health. He wrote about the doctors, nurses, and other health care providers he met. In his book he mentioned how the behavior and tone of health care providers impacted him. He touched on various topics such as patient privacy, care, and interaction.
The movie “The Doctor” is a good example of how communications in the health field work to benefit not only the patient, but the doctor too. In this movie, the main character, also known as Jack McKee, is a heart surgeon. The movie begins by showing how McKee’s attitude towards his patients tends to be inappropriate. Jack jokes about his patients and laughs at their concerns. His home life is also a struggle; his relationships with his wife and son are falling apart. The movie takes a turn when Jack becomes suddenly ill. He begins coughing up blood. He meets with a specialist by the name of Lesley. Tests reveal that Jack has a serious tumor on his vocal cords. He has now become the patient. He begins treatment but the results
The movie “The Doctor” takes an intimate look at the life of a surgeon who is immensely detached from his patients and often acts callously towards his patients and even his family. The arrogance and heartlessness that are seen in the beginning of the movie slowly become subdued when Jack McKee finds out that he has a malignant tumor. The diagnosis of the life-threatening tumor forces Jack to reevaluate his life and in turn allows Jack to see life from the perspective of a patient. The differences in McKee’s character are abundantly evident but one of the best examples of how much he truly changes are how starkly different the opening scene in the surgery suite is as compared to the final scene in the surgery suite. When the movie opens
In summary, the experience of observing and reflecting on this video vignette, elevated my understanding of the range of techniques that enhances communication therapeutically, such as active listening, empathy, developing rapport and the use of non-threatening body language and tone of voice to alleviate patient anxiety and illicit patient cooperation. Moreover, the act of reflective contemplation gave me an understanding of what it means to be self-aware - to be able to recognise and arrest idiosyncrasies such as personal moral values and cultural beliefs so as to promote a healthcare environment that is patient-centred. As general workplace and healthcare resource pressures increases, it becomes even more relevant for healthcare practitioners and future clinicians to be versed in such techniques, so that despite the pressure, they are better able to manage their emotional and physical
A doctor’s mind and heart are very much involved in the patient’s road to recovery. Evidence in support of this statement is shown in William Carlos William poem “ The Red Wheelbarrow, and his essay “The Practice.” Also, in Jack Coulehan poems “The Man with Stars Inside Him, The Six Hundred Pound Man,” and the article “What’s a good doctor and how do you make one?” Individually, each reading and poem has expressed doctor’s emotions with their patients, and what characteristics have guided them into becoming a good doctor. The readings are a representation of how doctors are in fact remorseful when it comes to their patients. While reading these articles, I realize that doctors have been restricted to how much emotion they are allowed to show. All doctors have their weaknesses and their strengths, and they should be vocal about them especially when it comes to treating their patients.
The video presented the ethics and boundaries and factors that affect those boundaries such as addiction, abuse, absent role models, and patients assuming the professional shares the same feelings as he or she does. Then the video discusses issues the doctor may incur such as “special treatment” of patients, time management, poor awareness of feelings, and the response to the patient.
Contrary to the belief that medicine should be solely clinical in order to preserve professionalism, narrative medicine is rapidly growing in the medical world and opposes clinical medicine by incorporating feelings and connections. Narrative medicine is the idea that doctors should be empathetic and must learn their patient’s story to build bonds that assist in curing the patient of illness, while supporting them mentally and emotionally. Rita Charon, a distinguished physician and professor at Columbia University, states “narrative medicine proposes an ideal of care and provides the conceptual and practical mean to strive toward that idea” (Charon). Medicine is often a difficult puzzle to solve, but being a genuine, caring human being is not. In his heart gripping book, The Measure of Our Days, Jerome Groopman explores the patient physician relationship giving insightful knowledge on the decision making in diagnosis and in treatment of different patients, but more importantly being a benevolent person. One consistent piece in Groopman’s puzzle of medicine is compassion, as he promotes it in every aspect of his career because it helps the victims of illness and disease understand their ailments, accept their fate, all the while building trust with their physicians. In Groopman’s retelling of his and his patient’s intertwined quest for cures and treatments, he exhibits the necessity of narrative medicine’s transgression into medicine for both physicians and patients.
This article looks into the profession and personal relationship expectations professionals are expected to have with their living patiences and the deceased, as students. Before the 1960 to the 1970 's the expectations are set that the doctors are to know more, have good bedside manner, be personal but not to cross the line of developing relationships. This eventually changed to the expectations of having "an 'affective neutrality ' or a 'detached concern ' for clients". Due to the social norms of the time of persons in authority situations having a more colder demeanor to gain that power over others. There seems to be a fine line of expectations of the physicians to show sympathy, but not to care to much in worry that it would effect the decision and care of the health care being provided. Along with having control over the way a physician cares for the individuals other basic human emotions, such as disgust and attraction need to be in check at all times as well. Unity in caring for all patients is key , not only as
Melvin Konner, in “Basic Clinical Skills”, uses a first person point of view along with some bits of humor in order to establish a more relatable narrator. He discusses several topics such as the relationship between doctors and their patients, the healthcare given in hospitals, and the role that the physician plays in different contexts of life.
While examining the interpersonal interactions between doctors and patients it is clear that doctors completely control the talk time. Doctors ask a lot of "yes" or "no" answered questions, not allowing the patient to express very much emotional information. This is one of the ways that doctors, in this type of environment, try to stay emotionally detached from patients. An example of this can also be found in the movie when all the experienced doctors only refer to patients as their certain illnesses. These doctors feel that names, emotions, hobbies, etc. are just distractions that get in the way of their professional duties.
The video created by ICF international, “How to Deliver Bad News to Patients", was not only eye opening, but also enhanced the overall learning experience. It does an excellent job of depicting, the way in which bad news is communicated is critical to patients, this is significant because giving or receiving bad news is ever easy. From the earliest starting point the physician built a caring relationship. The physician began the appointment in a private room, and disclosed to her that there would be no interruptions, and he appointed one of his colleagues to respond to his pager. While reading there were skill builders on how to share bad news with compassion, and within the guidelines suggested to converse with patient in a quiet and private place.
Doctors can work to improve their communication (Taylor, 2012). Doctors can work on using language that is easier for the patient to understand as well as using non-verbal messages to create a warmer environment (Taylor, 2012). Medical doctors are normally the highest on the decision-making team in a hospital, but by seeking out the opinions of nurses and health psychologists, better care can be provided. Doctors who provide education and explanations of procedures before the event help patients feel better after the intervention (Taylor, 2012). Patients who were provided more information from their doctors also were more apt to follow post- intervention instructions and comply with long-term treatment plans (Taylor, 2012). Many doctors exhibit a “God” complex and believe they are the healer. Many people prefer this type of personality in a doctor because they believe the doctor will want to “win” and will do anything possible to make treatment a success. On the other hand, if doctors can engage members of their team and use their expertise, they can more accurately know
I embrace the search for the effective, mutual beneficial relationships within medicine that aims to improve the lives of patients and fellow physicians to uncover the body’s complexities that are not always apparent through pure medical intervention. It’s not an endeavor that can be done with haste. Only with deliberate focus and care can I learn how to hone a person’s tale to their own telling and maintain their wellbeing. I look forward to the
Classic interactions between patients and doctors rely heavily on medical competence. The doctor, the supposed superior in the arrangement, acts as a symbol for scientific proficiency while the patient exists as a sponge. While extensive knowledge is nonnegotiable in the field, empathy is a key component in ensuring proper diagnoses and sustaining healthy, impartial interactions. Margaret Edson 's play W;t employs dialogue and discontinuous juxtaposition in order to draw attention to the inevitable disconnect between patients and providers, which endangers successful medical engagement and outcomes.
The doctor-patient relationship always has been and will remain an essential basis of care, in which high quality information is gathered and procedures are made as well as provided. This relationship is a critical foundation to medical ethics that all doctors should attempt to follow and live by. Patients must also have confidence in their physicians to trust the solutions and work around created to counter act certain illnesses and disease. Doctor-patient relationships can directly be observed in both the stories and poems of Dr. William Carlos Williams as well as in the clinical tales of Dr. Oliver Sacks. Both of these doctors have very similar and diverse relationships with multiple patients