•  
  •  
 

Author Bio

Dr. Don Sessions is Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, emeritus at Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, Mo. His scholarship explored treatment and results in patients with head and neck cancer, and he has published multiple journal papers, book chapters, and two books in the field. He taught courses in the Doctor-Patient Relationship to medical students at Washington University Medical School, and served as the initial Chair of the Barnes Hospital Ethics Committee. Dr. Sessions was the editor of Missouri Medicine, and his regular editorials concerned how contemporary physicians address the challenges of their everyday life in the context of modern technology and the changing practice model.

Keywords

Medicine, relationship, humanity, magic

Abstract

In this age of technology with its concerns for efficiency and resources the practice of medicine and the relationship between doctors and patients is under assault. Using the doctor-patient relationship as a model to address this concern the author claims that making a personal connection between doctors and patients at the level of their shared humanity produces synchronous beneficial results. Further, this personal connection can facilitate magic, an experience where a specialized type of language and listening allow for unpredictable and unexpected results.

Download

Share

COinS