The first study that we will be analyzing in this blog was created by Randy and Lori Sansone who compiled many different research pieces about physician grief and analyzed each one. Both authors are MDs. They report that grief-related jobs and stress may culminate in job related burnout and this can be seen most clearly by seeing that this burnout affects up to 50% of physicians treating the terminally ill. Authors from another study state that physicians often experience grief because of deaths of patients. Though this may seem obvious, a qualitative study by Rhodes-Kropf interviewed 65 3rd year medical students from 2 schools about emotional reactions to patient deaths. The final analysis from the 32 interviews examined showed that 57% rated effect of patient death as highly emotionally impactful; 63% said no discussion by colleagues of the experience in aftermath of death. A Sullivan USA study showed that ½ felt unprepared to manage their emotions about death. 188 Medical personnel in 2 academic teaching institutions that Redinbaugh examined participants’ reactions to the recent death of a patient showed that women participants and physicians who had cared for the patient for a longer period experienced stronger emotions. ¼ that did end up speaking to their attending physicians found this experience not helpful. A study conducted in Scotland by Linklater examined 79 physicians that were frequently exposed to patient deaths said that 61% said most memorable death was emotionally distressing and 26% said recent personal bereavement was worse. Moon suggests that if physicians participate in death talks, increase social engagements that examine the complex dynamics of grief, and emphasize importance of adequate grief support, we could see a difference in how physicians actually deal with grief.
The second study is a research paper from Stanford that actually identifies the relationship between a doctor and patient and why patients might be inclined to like a certain doctor. The first precedent that is set is the idea that a strong emotional connection between how a patient ideally wants to feel and the doctor they choose makes it more likely that the patient will follow their doctor’s advice. According to Stanford Psychology Associate Prof Jeanne Tsai & Tamara Sims who is a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford, after examining the patient-doctor relationship thru 2 emotional states excitement and passion and calmness and relaxation, they realized that how people wanted to feel predicted the physicians they chose. For example, 101 San Francisco Bay Area adults answered questions about their health and ideal ways of feeling good and then watched videos which emphasized positive states in how they communicated. Then, the test subjects received feedback from physician and same list of health recommendations. After 5 days, participants reported on whether they actually engaged in these recommended behaviors. The results were that patients were significantly more likely to listen to doctors when they fit ideal expectations. This allowed the researchers to come to a generalized solution that doctors need to evaluate patients’ ideal effect. We, as humans, already recognize that people differ in certain type of values but can be ignorant to the fact that people can also differ in emotional values. Both of these sources have an underlying idea that captures the relationship between a patient and their doctor. Though we have explored this connection before, these 2 studies explain how this relationship can manifest and the effect it has. The first study exemplifies the effect that a patient’s death can have on their doctor solely because of the importance of their relationship. The second study talks about how this relationship can actually form that has a direct correlation to the “identities” that one has on what they value emotionally the most. CHECK OUT THE STUDIES: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3366454/. http://news.stanford.edu/2015/04/02/doctor-patient-emotion-040215/.
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