I wanted to share this article with you from the New York Times. The author is a physician here at Weill Cornell Medical School. As volunteers, you are learning to interact with and understand patients. What appeals to me about this article is that the author points out, "What is critical to understanding someone is not necessarily having had his or her experience; it is being able to imagine what it would be like to have it."
As you volunteer, you develop empathy as you listen to people tell stories of their struggle with illness. Being an empathetic person is not only important if you are looking to develop your bedside manner, but is essential in forming connections with others.
Do you agree with what this doctor has to say? How does volunteering influence your understanding of empathy?
Understanding Empathy: Can You Feel My Pain?
By RICHARD A. FRIEDMAN, M.D.
Published: April 24, 2007
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1 comment:
Just read the article. I agree with the statement that it is not necessary to experience what patient’s going through to be empathetic. But I also don't think that the definition of Empathy provided in the article is the best one.
Empathy is not "imagining" but "sensing" what the other person feels. Imagining is biased to social norms, personal experiences, and stereotypes (how one suppose to feel in such and such situation).
Sensing allows validating this particular person feelings.
If someone's husband has died that person might not be grieving at all - we don't know until we have a deep understanding the relations and the other things that were surrounding the life of these two. One can only sense a sorrow and/or a joy for the fact, and then validate it in a discussion with the patient.
Yelena
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