Empathy: Can It Be Taught?
Authors: Frederic W. Platt
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1992)

Letters15 October 1992Empathy: Can It Be Taught?Frederic W. Platt, MDFrederic W. Platt, MDSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-117-8-700_2 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the Editors: Howard Spiro gives a touching description of the human concern of one person for another and its importance in medicine (1). I think, however, that he mistakes medical student enthusiasm for empathy and misplaces its locus in our feelings instead of in our intellect.Do medical students come full of empathy only to lose it as they become physicians, as Dr. Spiro suggests? Surely not. They come imbued with romantic illusions and often real humanity but are seldom skilled at empathy. Placing empathy within the zone of feelings confuses empathy with sympathy, the vicarious experiencing of another's...References1. Spiro H. What is empathy and can it be taught? Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:843-6. LinkGoogle Scholar2. PlattMcMath FJ. Clinical hypocompetence: the interview. Ann Intern Med. 1979;91:898-902. LinkGoogle Scholar3. SuchmanMathews AD. What makes the physician-patient relationship therapeutic? Exploring the connexional dimension of medical care. Ann Intern Med. 1988;108:125-30. LinkGoogle Scholar4. Cohen-Cole S. The Medical Interview: The Three Function Approach. St. Louis: Mosby Year Book; 1991:22. Google Scholar5. SmithHoppe RR. The patient's story; integrating the patient-and physician-centered approaches to interviewing. Ann Intern Med. 1991;115:470-7. LinkGoogle Scholar1. Spiro H. What is empathy and can it be taught? Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:843-6. LinkGoogle Scholar1. Spiro H. What is empathy and can it be taught? Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:843-6. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Dimond E. The UMKC medical education experiment: an alternative pathway to physicianhood. JAMA. 1988;260:956-8. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. Spiro H. What is empathy and can it be taught? Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:843-6. LinkGoogle Scholar1. Spiro H. What is empathy and can it be taught? Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:843-6. LinkGoogle Scholar2. BelkinNeelon BF. The art of observation: William Osler and the method of Zadig. Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:863-6. LinkGoogle Scholar3. Osler W. Aequanimitas. With other addresses to medical students, nurses and practitioners of medicine. Philadelphia: The Blakiston Company; 1944. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Frederic W. Platt, MDAffiliations: PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byIntimacy, Anonymity, and “Care with Nothing in the Way” on an Abortion HotlineProgramme of triple-I mediator education (TIME) to improve medical disputes in clinical settings in Taiwan: a Delphi studyDoes empathy change during undergraduate medical education? – A meta-analysis*Humanism and Medical Treatment: Clinicians and Patients Finding Common Ground¿Por qué es importante la enseñanza de la empatía en el Grado de Medicina?Why teaching empathy is important for the medical degreeEmpathy promoting interventions for health professionals: a systematic review of RCTs“Could this Be Something Serious?”Predictors of empathy in dementia care staffThe good old daysEmpathic communication 15 October 1992Volume 117, Issue 8Page: 700-701KeywordsEmotions ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 15 October 1992 PDF downloadLoading ...