Attitudes and Habits of Highly Humanistic Physicians

Abstract

Identification of factors that highly humanistic attending physicians perceive help them to sustain a humanistic outlook over time may inform the design of programs to develop and sustain humanism in teaching faculty.

Transformative Learning as the Basis for Teaching Healing

“…A range of activities, including those listed in Table 5, have been demonstrated to facilitate insight, dialogue and reflection as part of medical education. 10,32,44 However, the nature of transformative learning will be influenced, not only by the content of what is being taught, and by how one teaches, but also by students' differing biographical histories and socio-cultural factors. It is worthwhile considering that a "disorienting dilemma" for one student may not be so for another student.…”

“…7,8 In this context, several authors have recently drawn attention to, and defined the role of, the so-called '"physician-healer" as a healthcare professional who uses his/her cognitive skills and abilities to treat disease, while simultaneously using himself/herself as a therapeutic instrument to relieve suffering and to promote healing. [1][2][3][4][5][6]9 Chou at al 10 have recently outlined the attitudes and habits of highly humanistic physicians. As suggested by Puchalski, "Medicine is being challenged to broaden its focus beyond cure to healing".…”

To Err is Human: Can American Medicine Learn from Past Mistakes?

“…Personal humility is essential for good doctoring. [52][53][54][55] The more humble the medical profession is, the more likely we will avoid costly errors.…”

Taking Humanism Back to the Bedside

“…11 Recognizing the potential impact of these challenges, we, as educators, need to maintain the focus on humanistic practices. In 2014, Chou et al 12 examined the attitudes and behaviors of highly humanistic physicians. Her team found that attitudes of humanism include humility (cherishing the privilege and responsibility that society has bestowed upon us), curiosity (a genuine desire to know about the people we interact with), and a desire to maintain high standards of behavior.…”