The physician ’s essential art of balancing emotion and logic

< p > From patient to patient and from hospital to home, physicians have to toggle back and forth between the emotional and rational parts of their minds to be effective in both establishing a therapeutic relationship and logically determining the best course of treatment. But how do you find the appropriate balance? < /p > < p > In a piece for the < em > New York Times Well < /em > blog titled, “ < a href= " http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/death-and-sandwiches/?_r=0 " rel= " nofollow " target= " _blank " > Death and sandwiches < /a > , ” Dhruv Khullar, MD, a resident physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, investigated a skill that physicians develop over the course of their training—toggling between the rational and emotional sides of their minds. < /p > < p > This dichotomy allows physicians to be empathic and compassionate with a patient, which helps them understand their concerns and condition, and at the same time gives them the ability to switch to a more rational, logical side to determine the best course of treatment to help that patient. < em > AMA Wire < /em > ® spoke to Dr. Khullar about the essence of this tension and the need to perfect the art of balance. < a href= " http://pluck.ama-assn.org/ver1.0/../static/images/store/3/11/73687d60-8e53-4890-bb61-062c765e5d18.Full.jpg?1 " target= " _blank " > < img src= " http://pluck.ama-assn.org/ver1.0/../static/images/store/3/11/73687d60-8e53-4890-bb61-062c765e5d18.Large.jpg?1 " ...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news