It’s a fast-paced world, no two ways about it. People move on from one event to another. We have to move on either for our own sake or the sake of someone near and dear. In the medical field, patients come and go, surgeries are performed, treatments are given, and everybody moves on.
Being kind to patients—and as importantly to each other—like many clinical skills and ethos seems to be a losing art. Let me clarify a few basics:
- Kindness: Emotional and physical act of being generous, thoughtful, and helpful
- Mercy: Act of showing forgiveness, even when the recipient may not deserve it
- Empathy: Emotional ability to feel or share another person’s feelings
- Compassion: Positive and active desire to help someone in distress (action-oriented).
Unlike many other parameters in medical practice, there are no objective ways to measure kindness, mercy, empathy, or compassion. They are felt by the person at the receiving end and, of course, emotions felt deep within by the person who acts upon them.
Basic Human Values Still Paramount
In the era of surgical robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), many (like me) probably have wondered whether emotions such as kindness, mercy, empathy, or compassion represent just weak and sensitive people trying to hold on to old traditions, not being able to catch up with recent and exciting advances in the medical field. Are they emotions just from people who always whine and complain “how things are better off the same old way.”
Believe me when I say I have seen some doctors and enthusiasts getting carried away with the glamour of new technology while neglecting these basic human values. Kindness to patients as well as junior colleagues seems to be given a lower priority when it comes to moving ahead and catching up with technology.
“Kindness and mercy are not just artificial values to be shown off; they are real-time, day-to-day acts that make humans human.”— Raj Mohan, MS, DNB, MCh, FEBS
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Have you ever heard a surgeon say how kind, merciful, empathetic, or compassionate he or she has been to a patient or a colleague? Or do you more often hear us talk about a new skill or a novel technique that we performed or mastered, especially if it’s robotic?
In fact, talking about the above-mentioned qualities might even be considered to be outdated and even dubbed as “proud.” However, the same discussion on robotics usually elicits awe, especially if the listener is naive to these advanced techniques.
Kindness and mercy are not just artificial values to be shown off; they are real-time, day-to-day acts that make humans human. These traits make our patients—or any human for that matter—feel wanted and cared for and elicit a will to live longer. Never can a robot or anything copy these human emotions.
At no point would I say not to welcome these obviously wonderful accomplishments of modern science. However, as important as it is to embrace new technology, it is of paramount importance that we not only preserve these vital human traits and values, but also develop and work upon them, just as with any other clinical skill—lest we succumb to the glamour and aura of machines and artificial intelligence!
DISCLOSURE: Dr. Mohan reported no conflicts of interest.
Dr. Mohan is a surgical oncologist in Mumbai, India.
