A Doctor's Reflections On Confronting Hate

Doctors and nurses must care for everyone, but that doesn't mean they don't have dread Sally Elford/Getty Images Confronting The Hateful Patient And Our Own Biases I'd never heard the words "hateful patient" before my conversation last week with [Dr. John Henning Schumann]( an internal medicine doctor and a regular Shots contributor. We were discussing the [piece he would write for us]( following the events in Charlottesville. Over the phone, he told me that the violence that broken out at the gathering of white supremacists had brought to mind a really uncomfortable scenario: How would he and colleagues react if faced with treating someone spewing racial epithets or bearing a swastika tattoo? As Schumann [explores in his piece]( while doctors are duty-bound to treat everyone, they are not immune from feelings of disgust or lack of empathy when dealing with difficult patients. They do, however, have to find ways to work through those feelings in order to get the job done. Schumann points us to a 1978 article in the New England Journal of Medicine titled "[Taking Care of the Hateful Patient]( well-known in the medical field. The author cautions doctors against disowning or denying negative feelings they may have toward individual patients, suggesting that doing so could get in the way of treating those patients. Schumann summarizes it this way: By owning our dread and giving name to it, we're more likely to accept it and move forward in doing our work. Sounds to me like a technique we all might try when paralyzed by anger, fear or other emotions. Lastly for this week: Enjoy the eclipse tomorrow! But please [PROTECT YOUR EYES](. If you don't have eclipse glasses, there are lots of other ways to enjoy the eclipse, as our awesome colleagues at [NPR's Skunk Bear demonstrate in this video](. -- Your Shots editor Andrea You received this message because you're subscribed to our Health emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]