{"title":"Challenging the clinically-situated emotion-deficient version of empathy within medicine and medical education research.","authors":"Barret Michalec, Frederic W Hafferty","doi":"10.1057/s41285-021-00174-0","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this paper, we argue that the notion of a clinically-situated empathy (e.g. physician empathy), is potentially problematic as it perpetuates an emotion-deficient version of empathy within medicine and medicine education research. Utilizing classic and contemporary empathy theory from various social science disciplines, we discuss how empathy in the general sense differs conceptually from clinically-situated empathy-paying particular attention to the role of emotional contagion. To highlight this contrast, we draw upon Hojat et al.'s model of physician empathy and how this body of work reflects broader medical-cultural norms that problematize the role and impact of emotions within the clinical encounter. Alternatively, we present a more encompassing model of empathy drawing upon the fields of social-psychology and social-neuroscience in order to bring the notion of \"feeling with\" and emotional contagion more specifically, into medical education, medical education research, and medicine more generally.</p>","PeriodicalId":46551,"journal":{"name":"Social Theory & Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8607055/pdf/","citationCount":"5","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Social Theory & Health","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1057/s41285-021-00174-0","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"SOCIAL SCIENCES, BIOMEDICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 5
Abstract
In this paper, we argue that the notion of a clinically-situated empathy (e.g. physician empathy), is potentially problematic as it perpetuates an emotion-deficient version of empathy within medicine and medicine education research. Utilizing classic and contemporary empathy theory from various social science disciplines, we discuss how empathy in the general sense differs conceptually from clinically-situated empathy-paying particular attention to the role of emotional contagion. To highlight this contrast, we draw upon Hojat et al.'s model of physician empathy and how this body of work reflects broader medical-cultural norms that problematize the role and impact of emotions within the clinical encounter. Alternatively, we present a more encompassing model of empathy drawing upon the fields of social-psychology and social-neuroscience in order to bring the notion of "feeling with" and emotional contagion more specifically, into medical education, medical education research, and medicine more generally.
期刊介绍:
Social Theory & Health provides an international scholarly forum for theoretical reflection and debate on contemporary health issues, many of which bear directly on the planning and delivery of services. The journal aims to consolidate, refine and extend theoretically informed work on the role of health in modern societies. Interest in issues of theory and health now informs many academic and practice-oriented disciplines and crosses discipline boundaries. The Editors encourage contributions from all relevant disciplines, as well as from those involved directly in front-line treatment and care. Contributions from the developing world are particularly welcome. The journal aims to include contributions from all theoretical perspectives.