Evolution of empathy over a medical career

I recently watched Bridget Duffy’s talk at the GEL conference, where she presents her work as “Chief Empathy Officer”. She mentions at one point the evolution of doctor’s empathy over a career, and I find it pretty fascinating to see this key skill evolve with time. Doctors start by being idealistic, then lose empathy after their study, probably confronted with the reality of a job that can be tough, and where it is easy to treat people as numbers when you face the constraints of a modern health system. Then life kicks in and teaches a few lessons, bringing empathy back to the picture. Pretty much summarizes the evolution we all go through isn’t it?

The evolution of empathy over a medical career, and Bridget Duffy at GEL 2008.