Articles: empathy.
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Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. · Dec 2001
Biography Historical Article["The first duty of every physician is to be humane..."].
In 1901 the Russian physician V. V. ⋯ The book treats ethical problems in medicine and is critical of several aspects of medical practice. The article contains passages from the book, with comments.
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Five studies examined the effects of chronic and contextual activation of attachment security on reactions to others' needs. The sense of attachment security was contextually primed by asking participants to recollect personal memories, read a story, or look at a picture of supportive others or by subliminally exposing them to proximity-related words. This condition was compared against the priming of neutral themes, positive affect, or attachment-insecurity schemas. ⋯ Attachment-security priming strengthened empathic reactions and inhibited personal distress. Self-reports of attachment anxiety and avoidance were inversely related to empathy, and attachment anxiety was positively related to personal distress. The discussion emphasizes the relevance of attachment theory for explaining reactions to others' needs.
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The effective practice of medicine requires narrative competence, that is, the ability to acknowledge, absorb, interpret, and act on the stories and plights of others. Medicine practiced with narrative competence, called narrative medicine, is proposed as a model for humane and effective medical practice. ⋯ With narrative competence, physicians can reach and join their patients in illness, recognize their own personal journeys through medicine, acknowledge kinship with and duties toward other health care professionals, and inaugurate consequential discourse with the public about health care. By bridging the divides that separate physicians from patients, themselves, colleagues, and society, narrative medicine offers fresh opportunities for respectful, empathic, and nourishing medical care.
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Empathy is an expected attribute improving doctor-patient relationship. It also helps to understand psychological problems of patients. This paper describes a research study on empathy in physicians of different specializations. ⋯ Comparing them to internists and gynaecologists, the difference is of statistical significance. The highest level of cognitive empathy characterizes in order: paediatricians, psychiatrists and family doctors. Comparing to other specializations, internal medicine doctors and gynaecologists proved to be physicians of the lowest cognitive empathy.