Bad Bedside Manners

This article discusses the psychology of dehumanization resulting from inherent features of medical settings, the doctor–patient relationship, and the deployment of routine clinical practices. First, we identify six major causes of dehumanization in medical settings (deindividuating practices, impaired patient agency, dissimilarity, mechanization, empathy reduction, and moral disengagement). Next, we propose six fixes for these problems (individuation, agency reorientation, promoting similarity, personification and humanizing procedures, empathic balance and physician selection, and moral engagement). Finally, we discuss when dehumanization in medical practice is potentially functional and when it is not. Appreciating the multiple psychological causes of dehumanization in hospitals allows for a deeper understanding of how to diminish detrimental instances of dehumanization in the medical environment. Many patients are satisfied with their care from physicians and find their stay in hospitals to be quite meaningful. But when you starting looking for it, bad bedside manner — and dehumanization — is everywhere. For example, a physician enters a room and begins examining a patient’s abdomen without permission, or even an introduction. Or, in bedside conversations, medical professionals or trainees call people by their diseases rather than their names. Caregivers can also slip into the habit of interrupting patients or avoiding eye contact. These scenarios a...
Source: Twelve Step Facilitation.com - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Addiction Adjunctive therapy Alcoholism Assessment Co-dependency Contrast to other models Doctors Loss of control Policy Relationships Spirituality Stages of Change Bad Bedside Manners Dehumanization doctor–patient relationsh Source Type: blogs