Try a little compassion

We’re sure that you’ve heard about compassionate care and how beneficial it is. In fact, you may even have been told that you are not being compassionate enough. But, as author Stephen Trzeciak states, “compassion comprises less than 1% of all communication by physicians to patients.” This miniscule percentage is linked to the lack of personal connections that are made with patients due to depersonalization.

In the book Compassionomics, it states that “healthcare providers find it easier to think of their patients as clusters of symptoms, rather than a whole human being”. When this depersonalization is mixed with emotional exhaustion, that is the point when healthcare providers run out of compassion for their patients.

In his Ted Talk, the co-author of Compassionomics, Stephen Trzeciak, talks about the benefits of showing your patients compassion. Spoiler alert: Compassion may make your job easier. This is because “knowing your patient as a person is associated with 33% higher odds of a patient’s adherence to therapy.” Watch his Ted Talk here to learn more.

Compassion can be learned

The systemic review in the book Compassionomics argues that compassionate care leads to the following:

1. Improved clinical outcomes
2. Improved patient experience
3. Improved practitioner experience
4. Decrease in practitioner burnout
5. Increase in clinic profits

You may have told yourself that you do not have time to be compassionate, or you’ve heard this from your practitioners. However, compassion can be shown in as little as 40 seconds and the behaviours can be learned. Here are some tips:

1. Use a small script to express to your patients that you are there for them on their journey to recovery.
2. Make a conscious decision to practice compassion every day.
3. Increase your human connection with eye contact, goal setting, recognition of emotional cues, and simply sitting with patients.
4. Listen. Just listen.
5. Add compassion to your patient experience templates and guides.

If you are interested in patient experience templates, or a manual for the front desk, please contact us. To learn more about compassion in healthcare, we suggest reading the book Compassionomics by Stephen Trzeciak and Anthony Mazzarelli.

Secondary sources

Compassionomics by Stephen Trzeciak and Anthony Mazzarelli

Healthcare’s Compassion Crisis Ted Talk by Stephen Trzeciak