title: Ready to listen: why welcome matters.
abstract: Welcome is a primary moral obligation of clinicians, essential for appropriate compassionate medical care. Listening to patients' stories requires a prior welcoming disposition that enables the practitioner to listen well.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. mem7e@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Margaret E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mohrmann
authors.forename: Lois
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shepherd
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D028681:Moral Obligations; D033262:Narration; D010166:Palliative Care; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations