Exploring Empathy in the Face of Patient Anonymity and Professional Challenges and Barriers

This article defines empathy as the conveyed expression of awareness, understanding, and sensitivity to the experiences, feelings, and emotions of a patient with a medical condition. This article is a reflective short story addressing empathy through the eyes of Maria (a fictitious patient), who is confronted with the challenges of negotiating her first encounter at a medical facility, and through the actions of Dr Jones (a fictitious physician) who, at a critical juncture, fails to engage empathically with her patient donning the ubiquitous hospital gown. The gown is instructive in this context because it compounds the deidentification of an already nondescript person. Maria's story is a collage of multiple clerkship experiences of a fourth-year medical student, and of shared anecdotal accounts from patients and medical practitioners.In this article, I explore the following: 1) the insecurities and anxieties experienced by individuals with medical ailments, 2) the critical role that empathy can play in reassuring and comforting patients in pain, 3) the belief held by some individuals that empathy erodes with the practice of medicine, 4) the ongoing threats and barriers to empathy in the medical profession, and 5) the vigilance and diligence required of medical practitioners to ensure maintenance of this essential human quality. Additionally, I describe the challenges of identifying who is responsible for screening for empathy in aspiring medical school applicants, incorporating empathy training in the classroom and in clinical apprenticeships, and monitoring and ensuring empathy maintenance among physicians in training and physicians in practice.