April 3, 2023 | 5 min read

“Get Well Soon”

By Aidan Crowley, Medical Student, University of Pennsylvania

In the extra minutes I spent getting to know my patient, she shared a secret that allowed me to help her follow care recommendations.  

October 7, 2019 | 2 min read

5 Tips for Effective Shared Decision-Making

By Mary Catherine Beach, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics

The clinically excellent physician practices effective shared decision-making with patients routinely. Select recommendations outlined include using decision aids, and establishing a relationship that is egalitarian and respectful.

April 26, 2019 | 2 min read

Building Authentic Rapport

By Leslie Ordal, MSc, CGC

Building rapport is about meeting patients where they are and showing that you’re putting their concerns first. Strong rapport transforms a clinical interaction into a human interaction, which is the heart of patient-partnered care.

July 14, 2021 | 1 min read

How to Respond to Off-putting Comments from Patients

By Elizabeth Steuber, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Sometimes comments from patients are rooted in their own unmet fears or needs. Instead of reacting to your own discomfort in the face of such comments, remaining curious and asking open-ended questions may help you understand what’s behind such unpleasant remarks.

January 24, 2024 | 2 min read

Grief in the season of joy 

By Eric Last, DO, Northwell Health, Wantagh, New York

After the holidays, I think back on patients who passed in December, an especially hard time to lose a loved one. At this time of year, I make an extra effort to help loved ones process their feelings. 

August 5, 2020 | 2 min read

Discomfort as Your Internal Compass

By Preetha Hebbar, MPH, medical student, Medical University of South Carolina

There are situations that can make us feel uncomfortable when caring for patients. Acknowledging these feelings may result in deeper and more meaningful relationships with patients.

May 20, 2021 | 2 min read

Alleviating Your Patients’ Worries

By April Sharp, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

During hospitalizations, patients and families have lots of time to worry. Asking about the concerns and empathizing may be especially helpful.

June 8, 2022 | 1 min read

I Wonder…

By Jeffrey Millstein, MD, Penn Medicine

“I wonder . . .” is a phrase that triggers curiosity and empathy. It can help us support patients instead of labeling them as “difficult.” 

June 4, 2025 | 3 min read

Letting the tea leaves breathe 

Kind gestures, like bringing a patient a cup of tea, may help bridge the gap between suffering and solace. Such thoughtfulness can offer comfort as powerful as any medication. 

March 28, 2023 | 2 min read

A Prevention Partnership

By Eliana Perrin, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Obesity is a complex disease that can be hard to treat. Promoting healthy lifestyles while preserving and honoring cultural and family traditions can start with newborns.    

October 1, 2019 | 4 min read

Developing a Complete Culture of Interpretation

By April Lugo, Program Coordinator, Johns Hopkins Medicine Office of Diversity and Inclusion

The clinically excellent clinician prioritizes training for themselves and their staff on the proper role of an interpreter. They work to empower interpreters to translate not only the patient's words, but also the patient's tone, cadence, and meaning.

January 22, 2020 | 2 min read

How to Help Patients who Feel Angry

By Leslie Miller, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Asking your patient open-ended questions about how they're doing can lead to a much deeper conversation that not only illuminates the origin of their anger and suggests treatment strategies, but can also be therapeutic in itself.

June 29, 2021 | 2 min read

Making Jewelry With my Patients

By Deirdre Johnston, MBBCh, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Some clinicians are lucky enough to interact with patients outside of medical encounters. In such settings, recognition of additional facets of their personalities may become evident, which will strengthen the patient-clinician relationship.

January 18, 2024 | 1 min read

“Please pray for me” 

By Youngjee Choi, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

When my longtime patient with chronic illness asked me to pray for her, I told her I would.  Whether prayer is something one can offer, responding to emotional and spiritual requests can be an important part of care. 

July 17, 2020 | 1 min read

Person-Centered LGBTQ Care in the Pandemic Era

By Justin Fontenot, MSN, RN

Patient-centered care requires considering your patients’ wants and needs in their management. ALL patients deserve person-centered care.

May 17, 2021 | 1 min read

Validating my Patient’s Despair

By Avani Prabhakar, MBBS, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

When my young patient was struggling to accept the diagnosis of leukemia, I was reminded how important validating emotions is in the giving excellent care.

June 2, 2022 | 2 min read

‘68 Chevy Camaro

By Jennifer Eitingon, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

If we limit the way we view our patients, we will miss out on what makes them who they are. By taking time to learn more about them as people, we can connect and offer better care. 

May 1, 2025 | 2 min read

Avoiding medical gaslighting 

Actively listen to and validate patients' experiences, recognizing their unique knowledge of themselves. Providing thoughtful support can earn patients' trust and help them feel better about their circumstances. 

March 23, 2023 | 2 min read

5 questions I ask every patient (archives 2023)

By Lillie Shockney, RN, MS, Johns Hopkins Medicine

I talk with patients who have metastatic breast cancer about their hopes and worries at every visit. This allows me to give better, whole-person care.  

September 23, 2019 | 3 min read

How to Manage Chronic Pain and Opioids

By Ryan Graddy, MD, AbsoluteCARE Medical Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Safe opioid stewardship is a key objective when managing chronic pain. Combining evidence-based strategies and compassionate care can help you to realize these goals.

February 7, 2019 | 3 min read

8 Tips From a Psychiatric Emergency Nurse

By Andrea Strawther, RN, Johns Hopkins Medicine

We are all patients. The golden rule of treating others as you would like to be treated can help patients and healthcare providers build more trusting relationships.

June 25, 2021 | 3 min read

“Tell me About Yourself”

By Aidan Crowley, Medical Student, University of Pennsylvania

During my recent experiences interviewing for med school, I learned that the best interviewers, like the best clinicians, focused on my comfort and let our conversation flow naturally. Such prioritizations promote deeper human connections

January 16, 2024 | 2 min read

“Too maternal”

By Kimberlee Parker, DO, MPH, Baylor College of Medicine

Being a mother has helped me to be a better doctor. Both roles require empathy, which I express toward my children and patients.  

June 11, 2020 | 2 min read

The Power of Accompaniment

By Aidan Crowley, Medical Student, University of Pennsylvania

When there are no further treatment options available, healthcare professionals can still compassionately accompany their patients until the very end.

May 18, 2021 | 2 min read

A Question That Transformed my Care of Patients

By Rebekah Fenton, MD, Northwestern University

Asking patients, “What are you most worried about?” can bring to light unspoken concerns and allow fears to be addressed.

May 12, 2022 | 2 min read

The “Uninterested” Mom Who Wept

By Precious Ndukwe, MD, Howard University

When caring for an overweight infant as a medical student, I wrongly assumed the mother was overfeeding the baby. This experience will remind me in the future to leave my suppositions at the door. 

April 29, 2025 | 2 min read

Soul gym

Our culture frequently celebrates physical strength. In healthcare, the power of emotional fortitude is regularly called upon when encountering patients’ frustration or anger. 

March 15, 2023 | 1 min read

Einstein’s Relativity And Patient Care

By Steve Kravet, MD, MBA, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians

Conversations about the passing of time can stimulate meaningful reflections during patient visits.  

September 19, 2019 | 2 min read

The Importance of Partnering With Patients

By Michael Crocetti, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians

What patients and families need is a clinician advocate who is available to listen, translate complex medical language, and support both the physical and mental health of the patient.

March 21, 2019 | 3 min read

Sitting with suffering

By Margaret "Molly" Hayes, MD, Harvard Medical School

Sometimes just our presence is all we can do to comfort a grieving family. It never feels like enough and it never will be, but it is something. Silence is powerful and doesn’t need to be filled with empty words. Sit with suffering and silence.

June 24, 2021 | 2 min read

How to Emotionally Support Patients Through Challenging Moments

By Rebekah Fenton, MD, Northwestern University

When I was a med student, I tried to “fix” how my patient was feeling. I learned that many patients need time to sit with their feelings and that listening empathically can be the best approach.

January 3, 2024 | 4 min read

Make a good stack

By Kyle Glienke, MD, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, Iowa

Like baling hay, connecting with patients on a personal level requires intentionality and consistency.

April 3, 2018 | 1 min read

10 tips to support patients with a substance use disorder

By Mike Fingerhood, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

I’ve devoted my entire career to supporting patients with substance use disorders (SUD). Here are the top 10 tips that I’ve learned over the past few decades.

May 11, 2021 | 1 min read

Empathy at The End of Life

By Avani Prabhakar, MBBS, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

At the end of life, clinicians who are present and listen compassionately may be entrusted with patients’ final wishes. Attempting to honor these requests is one way to serve.

April 27, 2022 | 2 min read

Listening to Your Patient’s Grief

By Avani Prabhakar, MBBS, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

By listening to a patient’s story of loss, we bear witness and affirm their experience. 

April 16, 2025 | 1 min read

Shared decision making 2.0

We need a new shared decision-making paradigm where all possibilities for care are out on the table, including unconventional ones. A clinician’s humility and openness are especially important now that patients are more emboldened to question the opinions of experts.

March 14, 2023 | 2 min read

Laughter is The Best Medicine

By Marion McCrary, MD, Duke Health

A smile, a touch, eye contact, and a jovial laugh can be a lifeline for patients in a stressful situation. 

September 10, 2019 | 1 min read

3 Reasons why Shared Decision-making Matters

By Minas Chrysopoulo, MD, PMRA Plastic Surgery

When patients and clinicians arrive at a treatment plan together, patients feel more involved, confident, and satisfied with their care.

January 9, 2019 | 1 min read

The Disease of Loneliness

By Shannon Scott-Vernaglia, MD, Mass General

In an environment pushing us ever faster, making the time to listen will often lead to better patient outcomes and greater clinician fulfillment.

December 18, 2023 | 1 min read

The healing power of story

By Shwetha Mudalegundi, medical student, Johns Hopkins Medicine

I used a narrative medicine technique when caring for a patient who mistrusted the healthcare system. By writing his story and reading it back to him, he understood that the care team was truly listening. 

July 9, 2020 | 1 min read

The Return of House Calls

By Sajida Chaudry, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Listening and looking closely when visiting with patients virtually in their homes can give us a more holistic picture of their lives and support systems.

May 10, 2021 | 2 min read

Bearing Witness

By Jennifer Caputo-Seidler, MD, University of South Florida

During the pandemic healthcare professionals have often been the only ones present with patients at the end of life. It’s ok if you struggle to find the right words—sitting with a patient so they're not alone is enough.

April 14, 2022 | 1 min read

“Don’t Worry”

By Jeffrey Millstein, MD, Penn Medicine

General reassurances are often ineffective when they don’t address patients’ true concerns.

April 7, 2025 | 2 min read

The connective cure 

By Allison Pugh, PhD, Johns Hopkins Univeristy

The art of genuine human interaction is a vital clinical skill that no algorithm can replicate. This building of connection can foster trust, enable healing, and facilitate holistic care. 

March 2, 2023 | 2 min read

Meaningful Chords

By Ben Roberts, CRNP, AGACNP-BC, ACHPN, Johns Hopkins Medicine

When my patient’s wife brought his guitar to the hospital, I realized it’s impossible to overestimate the impact of reuniting patients with what matters most to them. Do what you can to make this happen. 

September 3, 2019 | 2 min read

“Hand-holding”

By Colleen Leavitt, MD, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians

Personalized care softens the edges of a one-size-fits-all medical system that perpetuates inequities. For some, clinicians and the healthcare system need to be able to step-up and take actions that support their patients' health.

December 19, 2018 | <1 min read

Dr. Michael Carducci, A CLOSLER Look

By Gretchen Miller, Managing Editor

Patients with cancer are vulnerable. There are a lot of emotions associated with this diagnosis, and I want to make patients feel that they are not the disease.

December 6, 2023 | 1 min read

Reality bites 

By Carolina Saldanha, MD, Massachusetts General Brigham Salem Hospital 

I constructed what I thought was a great care plan for my patient with diabetes. I later learned that he wasn’t allowed lunch breaks and had nowhere to store his insulin. I now ask the patient about their daily routine to create a realistic plan. 

July 7, 2020 | 1 min read

Curbside Care

By Marianne Fingerhood, NP, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Whether seeing patients in-person or virtually, one of the most important aspects of care is the human connection.

May 5, 2021 | 2 min read

Empathy Instead of Judgment

By Isaiah Crum, MD, University of Pittsburgh

Through the death of an infant patient, I was reminded of how integral being compassionate and non-judgmental is to clinical care.