The Habit of Empathy

Tekst: Afonso Fernandes
Universidade do Minho, Portugal
Illustration: Edvard Munch, Death in the Sickroom (1893)

Medicine and the medical practice are worlds in constant change. The virtual pile of meaningful knowledge increases steadily every day, and, from time to time, to everyone’s disbelief, pandemics emerge, changing the way we behave and interact. In times of uncertainty, we turn our attention to the immutable aspects of our practice: trust and empathy.

To anyone familiar with the teaching of clinical communication, the word empathy rings multiple and loud bells. Empathy is the ever-present, the ever-subjective, and the ever-central element of the patient-physician relationship. However, this hyper-valuable skill is as difficult to practice as it is difficult to teach. While it seems intuitive to set up a plan to become a better pianist or a better chess player, it is unknown if there ever was an «easy 10-step guide» to become more empathic.

By defining empathy as «the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation,» the Cambridge Dictionary shows us what empathy really is: a conscious effort. Also, it suggests that we cannot trust our default way of acting to become more empathic. Instead, the habit of empathy requires self-discipline, deliberate practice, a great amount of self-analysis, and honest feedback: an approach that does not differ substantially from the practice routines used to develop more tangible or technical skills.

The habit of empathy requires self-discipline, deliberate practice, a great amount of self-analysis and honest feedback: an approach that does not differ substantially from the practice routines used to develop more tangible or technical skills.

This approach converts every interpersonal interaction into a moment for empathy practicing, leaving medical students and healthcare professionals with plenty of opportunities to practice this complex «skill.» While the adage «Practice like you play» strongly supports the former method, empathy practicing is not limited to interpersonal interaction. Art can also be a great tool to train the «ability to share someone else’s feelings» while providing a more forgiving environment than the clinic. To feel the angst of the protagonist in Knut Hamsun’s Hunger, to share the moment before execution with the rebel in Goya’s The third of May 1808, or to step into a life full of regret with Dr. Isak Borg in Wild Strawberries (1957) can also contribute to our understanding of other people’s individual struggles.

May we build the habit of empathy in our relationships and interactions inside as well as outside the clinic. The times that we are living in underline the need for this constant attention to others, particularly the most vulnerable; only by viscerally connect with the patients’ feelings and experiences can we access one of the most valuable privileges of medical practice: to live a life dedicated to helping others and, thereby, to help ourselves.