PHILADELPHIA, PA. – A key factor of solid patient/doctor relationships is a notion of empathy that drives a feeling of shared humanity.
According to the Mohammadreza Hojat, PhD, empathy in the context of patient care is “a cognitive attribute that involves an ability to understand the patient’s pain, suffering, and perspective combined with a capability to communicate this understanding and an intention to help.”
A newly released national study – led by Dr. Hojat of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University raises some tough questions about the level of empathy amongst medical students, though.