Caring for the Patient: Necessary, But Not Sufficient

Abstract

W hile lecturing to students at Harvard in the fall of 1925, Frances Peabody noted, “... the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient.”1 Generations of medical students have received this wisdom. Listen carefully. Make eye contact. There is a person sitting there, not a disease. Respect and empathy were and are central to both the diagnosis and treatment of many conditions. Failure to care often results in ineffectiveness of care. Many of us learned caring by observing our teachers care. Bedside modeling, more so than didactic presentations, seemed a far more effective method to impart this core attribute of our profession. But what was modeled was more than kindness and courtesy. The caring was accompanied by discerning observations, steady hands, and a disciplined mind. A physician …