title: Hope, false hope, and self-fulfilling prophecy.
abstract: Hope, false hope, and self-fulfilling prophecy are important aspects in the practice of medicine for all practitioners but are especially important in the field of neurosurgery, which deals with devastating, terrifying, and often fatal illnesses. The American Board of Medical Specialties and the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education have jointly defined 6 "general competencies" that define a competent physician and should be part of the curriculum of all residency programs. One of these 6 is interpersonal and communication skills. A true test of this competence is the ability to harness the powerfully beneficial forces of hope and motivation and to avoid the destructiveness of false hope and self-fulfilling prophecy.
authors.forename: Harold A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
mesh_terms: D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery; D003142:Communication; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000193:education / Q000941:ethics* / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics*; D011379:Prognosis