A few weeks ago, I asked a physician, “what are 3 qualities that you feel make a great doctor?” He answered with clinical intelligence, being able to apply the clinical intelligence, and being an empathetic communicator. Today, we talked a lot about empathy and the importance it holds for the physician-patient relationship. I learned that empathy is being able to feel with people. Meaning we listen, we connect, and we share in pain with them. One of the things I want to implement in my life in order to become a more empathetic person (within and outside of the healthcare setting) is to be a better question asker. I want to be able to have conversations that revolve around others and help me get to know others, rather than just talking about myself, so that when I find myself in a conversation about a medical error, I am able to more easily see from the patient’s perspective and empathize with them by asking them questions and listening to their feelings instead of trying to defend myself and invalidate their feelings.
