Empathy as a hermeneutic practice.
This essay will argue for the centrality of empathy in the doctor-patient relationship-as a core of ethically sound, responsible therapeutics. By "empathy," I intend an explicitly hermeneutic practice, informed by a reflexive understanding of patient and self. After providing an overview of the history of the concept of empathy in clinical medicine, I discuss current definitions and the use of Balint groups in residency training as a way to develop empathic competence in novice physicians.
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Institute for the Medical Humanities, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555, USA.
D002983:Clinical Competence; D015510:Clinical Medicine / Q000193:education; D004645:Empathy; D004989:Ethics; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D033262:Narration; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy