Turning toward suffering: Rethinking the patient- clinician relationship in physical therapy practice

Area of Science:

• Medical Humanities
• Philosophy of Medicine
• Disability Studies

Background:

• Traditional medical approaches often focus on cure and physical restoration.
• There is a need to differentiate between pathology and disability.
• The lived experience of illness and suffering requires deeper understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for a patient care model centered on connection.
• To explore the meaning of illness and suffering through phenomenology and embodiment.
• To propose a postmodernist approach to patient care that values interdependency.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis drawing on phenomenological philosophy.
• Exploration of embodiment and the lifeworld of patients.
• Application of postmodernist concepts to patient care scenarios.

Main Results:

• Suffering and illness are explored beyond pathology, focusing on lived experience.
• Phenomenology and embodiment offer strategies for patient engagement.
• Postmodernism provides a framework for care prioritizing connection and interdependency.

Conclusions:

• Patient care should transcend cure, embracing connection and the patient's lifeworld.
• Rethinking quality of life and disability requires challenging static conceptions.
• A postmodern lens can expand the patient-practitioner relationship, fostering a more holistic approach to care.