Richard Selzer and the Problem of Detached Concern
Authors: LOUIS BORGENICHT
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1984)

The Literature of Medicine1 June 1984Richard Selzer and the Problem of Detached ConcernLOUIS BORGENICHT, M.D.LOUIS BORGENICHT, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-100-6-923 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptAn oxymoron, defined inWebster's New World Dictionary(3) as "a figure of speech in which opposite or contradictory ideas or terms are combined," demands contemplation, a moment's pause to consider its true meaning. Obvious and overused literary examples are the phrases "sweet sorrow" and "thunderous silence"; a clear and underanalyzed medical example is the notion of "detached concern." Medical educators, practicing physicians, and students have discussed this concept for years in their efforts to understand the process of professional socialization of the physician. 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Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: ▸From the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine; Salt Lake City, Utah. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byA Definition and Key Features of Empathy in Patient Care“Notice How You Feel”: An Alternative to Detached Concern Among Hospice VolunteersCompassionate CliniciansReflections of Physician-Authors on Death: Literary Selections Appropriate for Teaching RoundsLove and the Physician: A Reply to Thomas Irons 1 June 1984Volume 100, Issue 6Page: 923-928KeywordsSalts Issue Published: 1 June 1984 PDF downloadLoading ...