Compassion is the Foundation of Human-Centered Care
This past week has been one of the most taxing in my life. Losing our home to a fire that destroyed everything has been devastating but, as with any tragedy, there are blessings.
In the midst of the chaos and grief, we’ve experienced the most remarkable acts of kindness and compassion, often from complete strangers or people I barely know.
I’m sharing this, not for sympathy, but because it has been a reminder of just how important empathy and compassion are when connecting with our patients. Besides being sick or injured enough to require admission many admissions are unplanned, meaning disruption to the patients’ lives in countless ways.
Interacting With Empathy
Things we may not think of can weigh heavily on patients’ minds when being admitted without time to plan.
- Who can take care of the children?
- I have to miss Jenny’s concert and Bennet’s soccer game.
- Who’s taking in the mail? Should I stop mail?
- Did I leave the garage door open?
- Who’s going to take care of the pets? For many pet-lovers, they are their fur babies and often a worry that impedes healing.
- What appointments do I need to cancel?
- Can someone bring me clothing and essentials?
The list of worries goes on and on and may even increase with time. This is precisely why it’s so important to ask our patients what is most important to them right now.
I’ll always remember a 32-year-old woman being admitted for acute appendicitis.
Shadowing the hospitalist during admission, I heard him ask the patient about previous surgeries, to which she replied she’d had three C-sections, the most recent being six months ago.
Despite this information, the hospitalist went right on to the next item on the admission history. He was polite and empathetic about her pain. In fact, his bedside manner was stellar. But when we left the room, I pointed out that from her history, she had three young children at home, and this was an emergency admission.
He didn’t connect the dots.
Connecting the Dots
Then I asked if he had children at home. He said yes, a two-year-old and a four-year-old. I asked what would happen in his household if his wife had a sudden admission and not able to keep the household running. With a wide-eyed response, he told me it would send their world into a tailspin.
Listening and responding with compassion changes everything. After our discussion, the hospitalist returned to the patient’s room and asked her about childcare and what concerns she had about how the hospitalization would affect her home life. The interaction completely changed when she realized he cared about more than her appendix.
When we talk about human-centered care, it’s vital that we listen and respond with compassion. When we do, we’re saying, “We see you and you matter.”
What steps will you take to become a little more human-centered?
Tags: clinical communication, empathy in healthcare, patient communication, patient empathy, Patient Experience, providing exceptional service
