Empathy in Education: Fostering Patient-Doctor Bonds in Medical School

Prospective Doctor (from MedSchoolCoach)

Dr. Erkeda DeRouen talks to Dr. Bradley Block, a general adult and pediatric ENT and host of “The Physician’s Guide to Doctoring” podcast. They talk about what every medical school should incorporate into their curriculum, the importance of patient-doctor communication, and what they think of the US healthcare system.

• [00:00] Introduction
• [07:19] Three Things That Every Medical School Should Incorporate
• [11:28] Patient-Doctor Communication
• [14:55] What Dr. Block Would Change About the Healthcare System
• [20:00] Parting Thoughts

What Medical Schools Should Incorporate

According to Dr. Block, the three things that medical schools should incorporate into their curriculum is the importance of communication, such as sitting down with a family physician, shadowing them for the day, and reflecting on what skills each student needs to optimize each of those interactions, second is learning the skills of persuasion, and the last one would be habit development.

Patient-Doctor Communication

For Dr. Block, communication skills can definitely be developed, but there is a need to be methodical about it. Ask yourself, “What is it you need to work on to be an effective communicator?”, and then you work on it in your own life by being present and being undistracted.

You can find Dr. Block on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Threads and listen to his podcast The Physician's Guide to Doctoring Podcast.

To learn more about how MedSchoolCoach can help you along your medical school journey, visit us at Prospective Doctor.

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