Why I Spoke with the Dalai Lama About Compassion in Medicine

I distinctly recall the moment I decided to become a
physician.  I was sitting on a bench in
the hallway of Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn, beside my aunt and older
cousin, as we waited for the physicians to complete their examination of my
beloved grandmother, in her early 90s, who was seriously ill.  She doted on all of her grandchildren,
particularly me, as I was the youngest.  I
loved my grandmother dearly.  I recall
seeing the doctors, dressed in their white uniforms, emerge from her room,
holding her life in their hands.  They eagerly
reported what turned out to be good news, and thankfully, she lived over a year,
and I entered the path to spend my life as a physician.  Clearly, what drove me into the field of
medicine was the compassion these doctors exhibited—their sincere desire to
care for and improve the lives of others.  

Amazingly, thirty-seven years later, I found myself as chancellor for health affairs at Duke University and dean of the Duke University School of Medicine where I oversaw the selection of our medical students.  The school was in an enviable position of having thousands of applicants with the highest academic standards for a class of 100 students.  While maintaining the most rigorous standards for scholastic achievement, we selected only those who convincingly demonstrated their compassion to serve the needs of others.  But, what has become apparent to me is that the sincere desire to deliver com...

Source: Academic Medicine Blog - July 23, 2019 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Guest Author Tags: Featured Guest Perspective compassion humanism in medicine medical education patient care Source Type: blogs