By May, the enthusiasm of being a doctor had waned. Most patient interactions involved a wide stance with one foot pointing to the doorway. I had come a long way from my empathy-themed medical school admission essay. Intern year had depleted the antibodies that protected my reserves of empathy.
Unlike medical school, there was no dedicated curriculum in residency for reviving those antibodies. As I reflected on the decay of my congeniality, I thought back to my summer internship at IDEO, a design-firm based in San Francisco. In that single summer, I learned more about being empathetic than I did in medical school. IDEO’s ability to deeply understand the perspective of their customers was the key to their success, and as a result, they had created an organization that actively nurtured and maintained empathy.
To do this effectively, IDEO relies on Design Thinking. Through interactive exercises, story-telling, and role modeling, IDEO empowers its employees to step outside the gravitational pull of their own reality. What if residency programs adopted something similar?
Imagine noon conference being replaced twice a month with improv-type exercises, designed to strengthen the muscles of compassion. Or interns could be asked to spend a day being “admitted” to experience the travails of being a patient. Nurses and doctors could be asked to shadow each other to squash the tribal nature of hospital dynamics.
Second, story-telling to share the non-medical aspects of a patient’s history could be better integrated into rounds. Instead of a simple “No smoking/alcohol/drugs” assessment of a patient’s social history, we could unpack the social complexities of select new patient, especially ones where the social determinants of health were clearly playing a role. Instead of regurgitating the usual therapeutics for a heart failure exacerbation, what if we spent time on rounds brainstorming drivers of non-compliance for a patient.
Lastly, role modeling by attendings and senior house-staff would be critical for inspiring younger trainees and maintaining a culture of compassion. The increasing importance of patient satisfaction scores is the perfect trigger for hospital leadership to ensure empathy is engrained at all levels of the organization.
Empathy is needed the greatest in medicine, but it is also most at risk in medicine. Given the demands and pressures of a clinical career, a Design Thinking curriculum and culture could be the much-needed booster shot we all need.