Crafting Gentleness

Monday, August 06, 2007

Words that make a difference

An interesting medical take on the language we can use when empathizing with people in difficult situations:

http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/135/7/551

2 Comments:

  • Ooh, I would like to read this article. I wonder if there is a way to access it without a subscription. I might be doing something wrong and that's why I can't see it; do you know?

    Thanks for posting.
    (Michelle from Facebook Gentle Teaching Group)

    By Blogger Chanticleer, at Tuesday, 07 August, 2007  

  • "Expressing wishes allows the clinician to enter the
    patient’s world, to defuse potential conflict about medicine’s
    limitations, and to get on the same side of the
    fence with the patient and family. However, because
    such statements do not specify what can be done for the
    patient, expressions of wish are only the beginning of a
    conversation"
    -What a powerful avenue for gentleness. I will be thinking of the politics of this in terms my everyday interactions with people when I have to give bad news.

    By Blogger Chanticleer, at Wednesday, 08 August, 2007  

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