The Empowered Patient: Hearing is Empowering

My column in the June, 2012 issue of MPNforum, The Empowered Patient: Hearing is Empowering, (http://mpnforum.com/michael-june/ ) is about my long journey to improved hearing. Why did it take me so long to order hearing aids? I hope my story will lower the barriers to obtaining hearing aids among the millions who suffer from age related hearing loss.

Several Recent Articles Stress the Value of Empathy in Medical Care.

The importance of empathy in medical care is the focus of several articles recently published in the medical literature. See below for a brief comment on each and a link or reference to the article.

In an article that appeared in the March, 2012 issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, Hacque and Waytz include empathy reduction in clinicians as one of the "causes of dehumanization" in medicine. They suggest that clinicians have difficulty being empathic when actively engaged in demanding cognitive processes, such as diagnostic reasoning and problem solving. Empathy reduction can be countered, however, by strategies which promote clinician awareness of the human and emotional aspects of patient care, such as learning about the whole patient (e.g., interests, roles, values, preferences) and recognizing the dehumanizing aspects of medical settings, technology and the procedural elements of care. The article citation is: Hacque, OS, Waytz A. Dehumanization in Medicine: Causes, Solutions, and Functions. Perspectives on Psychological Science March 2012 vol. 7 no. 2 176-186. doi: 10.1177/1745691611429706                                 

In the May, 2012 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Helen Reiss and colleagues reported that training in empathy improves physician use of empathic skills. Reiss reports that providing three 60-minute empathy training modules to residents and fellows (physicians undergoing specialty training post medical school) produced significantly greater changes in a patient-rated measure of empathy than residents undergoing standard training. Trained physicians also showed greater changes in their ability to decode facial expressions of emotion. An abstract of the article can be found at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22549298

And, the most inspiring article of the recent articles was written by Bernie Lown, MD's on his personal blog. See: http://bernardlown.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/social-responsibility-of-physicians/ . Bernie is a renowned cardiologist, educator and researcher who has been a proponent of patient-centered care for 60 + years! Dr. Lown is a leading voice in medical ethics and social responsibility and was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership of the Physicians for Social Responsibility during this organization's campaign to educate the public about the medical consequences of a nuclear catastrophe. He has also been an outspoken critic of overtreatment and
unnecessary use of medical technology, especially in advancing cardiovascular health,  and has emphasized the value of addressing health behaviors and promoting patient engagement and empowerment in his publications. The current article is a transcript of his address to the April, 2012 Avoiding Avoidable Care Conference held in Cambridge, MA. (See http://avoidablecare.org/ for more on the conference). Here is my favorite section:

Sixty years of doctoring has taught me that taking a history, namely listening, is the quintessential part of doctoring. Proper listening is a skill, an art and a core element of medical professionalism. History taking is far more than providing key elements for a diagnosis. It is the basis for nurturing trust. I am persuaded that nothing of science taught to medical students is as difficult to master as is the fine art of listening.

Strategy #6 for Empowerment - Connect with Others

See the 1 year anniversary issue of MPNforum for my latest The Empowered Patient column: http://mpnforum.com/the-empowered-patient-connect-with-others/

MPNforum is an online magazine that features news, interviews and stories on topics of interest to people with Myeloproliferative Neoplasms. My contribution to the May, 2012 issue focuses on the benefits of connecting with others through online magazines, support pages and listserves. Experiencing and expressing empathy are among the most valuable aspects of contributing to and participating in these online resources and sites.

Top 10 Ways to Be More Empowered: New Post in MPNForum, April, 2012

My latest column in the April, 2012 issue of MPN Forum lists my top 10 strategies for empowerment. As I approach 60, I plan to employ these strategies to help me to stay well and manage my health conditions. I hope you will find them useful as well.

See Top 10 Ways to Be More Empowered

Lady Gaga Launches Foundation to Promote Tolerance, Acceptance and Empathy Among Youth

When you listen to Lady Gaga's pulsing music, see her striking photos, or watch her theatrical performances on video or TV, my guess is that empowerment and empathy are not the first things that come to mind. However, after learning about the launch of Lady Gaga's new Born This Way Foundation (BTWF) http://bornthiswayfoundation.org/, I am going to have a hard time not thinking about Lady Gaga's empathy whenever I hear Born This Way, the Foundation's anthem.

At a news conference held at Harvard University, Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, indicated that they started the Born This Way Foundation to promote youth empowerment and speak out against bullying. As noted on the BTWF website, the Foundation's mission is "to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated." To achieve its mission, the Foundation is "dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a braver, kinder world."

In an interview that appeared in Nicholas Kristof's New York Times column http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/opinion/kristof-born-to-not-get-bullied.html?_r=2&src=me&ref=general, Lady Gaga describes being taunted, bullied and traumatized by fellow students during her high school years.  And, in an interview on the pop culture site, PopCrush http://popcrush.com/lady-gaga-launches-born-this-way-foundation/, Lady Gaga states that she has learned to respond to taunts with empathy...“I always have a moment of empathy.... I think they must be going through something today that is coming from a place of mental turmoil or a psychological challenge".

It would be wonderful if Lady Gaga can help stem the increase in youth bullying by promoting empowerment, empathy, tolerance and acceptance.

Participatory Health Care: Maastricht University show what it can look like.

I followed a link from a comment to the most recent posting by Stephen Wilkens in his Mind the Gap blog ( Mind the Gap - Patient Enagement - Feb 2012 ) that demonstrated what articipatory health care can look like. It's also a model of an effective brief presentation on the value of a more patient-centered approach in health care.

Thanks to TED and Maastricht University, a world leader in patient-centered care and health professional education for producing this video. See also the TEDxMaastricht site ( TEDxMaastricht 2011 Inspiration Videos ) for several other excellent videos from their 2011 event on participatory health care. If you search around on their site, you will also find information on their planned April 2012 event.

Motivating Yourself: A New Empowered Patient Column in the March MPN Forum

My latest post in The Empowered Patient column in the March, 2012 issue of MPN Forum features a strategy to help you break through the ambivalence that often keeps people for making important life changes.

So, if you are considering change, but have been unable to take action, it may be useful to ask yourself a series of questions that spur you to reflect upon about the value, importance and meaning of making the change. See below for some questions to help you to motivate yourself to take action. Reflect on  your answers and consider writing down your responses to the 3 questions that have the most meaning to you.

See the MPN Forum column (http://mpnforum.com/the-empowered-patient-march/ ) for more guidance about how to use these quesions to help move yourself towards action.

Questions for Motivating Yourself 

• What do I want to change?
• What reasons do I have for changing? (focus on your reasons, rather than somebody else's reasons)
• What is the most important reason for changing?
• What makes it so important?
• If I were able to change, what benefits would I experience?
• What is the most important benefit?
• Who else might benefit from my change?
• How would people who care about me feel about my change? (picture the scene)
• How would I feel about myself if I was able to change? (try to imagine actually experiencing the feeling)
• What small steps can I take to get started on the road to change? (consider the really really small steps that you know you to successfully take)
• Who can help me get started?
• How can I bring my talents and skills and experience to the change process?