EmpathyWorks Has Had 10,000 Views!

On July 11, 2009, I wrote My First Post on EmpathyWorks (click on text to view).

In the 57 posts that have followed, I have shared links and comments about articles, books and research studies on empathy and related aspects of relationship building. Many of my EmpathyWorks posts were links to a column I wrote for MPNforum, an online magazine for people who, like myself, are self-managing, or helping a loved one manage a myeloproliferative neoplasm.

I have enjoyed writing and sharing these tidbits and hope they have provided readers with opportunities to become more aware of the ways in which empathy can be a tool for enhancing understanding and promoting compassion and caring, particularly in health care settings.

I look forward to continuing to continuing to write and reflect on the impact and value of empathy here.

It would be great to have more comments and dialogue with readers, so please feel free to share your thoughts or ideas, either in the comment section on the blog, or via e-mail at goldsteinm52@gmail.com.

Enjoy!

Michael

Watch this Wonderful Video: "Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care"

Empathy is an essential element of quality health care. This video (Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care) simply, and beautifully, illustrates the value of seeking to understand others' experience. Listening, noticing, exploring and responding helps us to build healing connections with patients, family members and  caregivers. Empathy also helps those of us who are privileged to work in health care settings to know and support each other.

The video was published on YouTube on February 27, 2013 with the following information:

Patient care is more than just healing -- it's building a connection that encompasses mind, body and soul.

If you could stand in someone else's shoes . . . hear what they hear. See what they see. Feel what they feel. Would you treat them differently?

CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD, shared this video, titled "Empathy," with the Cleveland Clinic staff during his 2012 State of the Clinic address on Feb. 27, 2013.

 

It's Not Too Late to Make New Year's Resolutions

Just because it is already January 10th doesn't mean it is too late for New Year's Resolutions. See the link below to my Empowered Patient columnin the MPNforum for some ideas about how to make your New Year healthier.
http://mpnforum.com/michael-dec-17/

The Great American Smokeout - An Empathic Opportunity

Though any time is a good time to quit smoking,  November 15, 2012 is the 37th annual Great American Smokeout, or GASO, a day when hundreds of thousands of smokers will try to stay cigarette free.

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States, with approximately 443,000 U.S. adults dying from smoking-related illnesses each year!

 

The good news is that stopping smoking will provide some immediate health benefits. For example, your risk for having a stroke, heart attack or other cardiovascular event are reduced dramatically as soon as you quit smoking. Moreover, the risks of developing a smoking-associated cancer or other tobacco use-related condition also diminish over time.

 

Even if you don't smoke, someone you love may be a smoker and might benefit from quitting smoking during the GASO, or as a New Year's resolution, or any time!

 

So, what does this have to do with empathy and why am I writing about the Great American Smokeout here? 

 

Well, I can't help myself. As a physician, I have seen the ravaging effects that smoking has had on my patients and those who love them. As an educator, I have spent a good part of my career trying to help caring clinicians feel more prepared and confident about assisting their patients who smoke. And as a researcher,  I know that even a small dose of clinician empathy and a little advice and support improves smoking cessation outcomes.

 

So, if you are a smoker, take this opportunity to think about quitting. If you love a smoker, tell them you care about them and want to support them in their efforts to stay healthy. If you are a clinician, ask your patients who smoke if you can help them address their smoking.

 

The good news is that many forms of effective smoking cessation treatment, including medication, counseling and support, are now readily available:

• Medications reduce symptoms of nicotine withdrawal and improve rates of quitting. Some nicotine replacement therapies (e.g., patch, gum, lozenge) are available over-the-counter while others (i.e., nicotine inhaler and spray; bupropion; varenicline) are available by prescription;
• Behavioral counseling, alone or when provided with medication, improves quit rates. Counseling is provided in individual and group formats and also via free state-supported telephone quit lines; and
• Online quit programs and mobile aps also show great promise.

For quitting resources and more on the Great American Smokeout, go to the American Cancer Society page at: http://www.cancer.org/healthy/stayawayfromtobacco/greatamericansmokeout/index

For a wonderful Youtube video by Dr. Mike Evans on how to quit smoking see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0zvG2vSjrA&feature=share&list=PL9FF73EC555CB6855

And for addition quitting resources see the National Cancer Institute site at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/tobacco/smoking

More on Empathy and Effective Leadership

See my latest column on the relationship between empathy and effective leadership in the October, 2012 issue of MPNforum.

http://mpnforum.com/the-empowered-patient-oct-2012/

Empathy and Leadership

More on the Empathy Gap in the Race for the White House

This article in Salon covering Michele Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention provides another take on the emapthy gap between the major US political Parties:

Republicans’ empathy gap

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.