It ’s time for medicine to share its power

In the movie Malice, Alec Baldwin plays Dr. Jed Hill, a surgeon who gives a famous speech during a deposition in a medical malpractice case. “”If you’re looking for God, he was in operating room #2 on November 17th, and he doesn’t like to be second-guessed … I am God.” No one wants a doctor like that. And yet, maybe we do. We yearn for someone capable of healing all of our wounds, fixing what is wrong, performing miracles in the OR. We expect someone to be able to cut into our brains, hearts, and bellies, but somehow also expect that same someone to deny the inherent power of those tasks. Power is fine in the operating room, but we want and need empathy from our doctors in the exam room. Doctors are inherently in positions of power, surgeons even more so. The problem is, studies suggest that power can destroy empathy. In these studies, subjects who are under the influence of power are less able to see things through others’ points of view. Power impairs mirroring, and mirroring is crucial to developing empathy. Laughing when others laugh, tensing when others tense; these are the things that make us able to feel what someone else is feeling. But that can be dangerous for doctors. One doctor who seemed to be able to master the art of empathy was Dr. Paul Kalanithi, the author of the wonderful book When Breath Becomes Air. Unfortunately, it was being diagnosed with cancer (and ultimately succumbing to the disease) that may have allowed him to be empathetic....
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Hospital-Based Medicine Practice Management Surgery Source Type: blogs