How Should Physicians Approach the Problems of Their Patients?

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
During a recent seminar with pediatric residents to discuss the role of empathy in the doctor-patient relationship, the following dialogue occurred. Resident: It is fine and terrific to talk about how useful empathy can be, but it does not work when children with reactive airway disease have parents who continue to smoke. I feel strongly that people should not smoke. When these children wheeze, their parents bring them to the Emergency Department and we have to see them and deal with the same problem over and over again. Physician: Have you talked to the parents to try and understand their feelings about smoking and whether they believe it influences their child's wheezing?

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: