Empathy in Action: Transform Your Perspective

I once saw a specialist who seemed to have given up on me before I even walked through the door. He told me my left cornea was irreparably damaged. His only hope, he said, was that I wouldn’t lose the eye altogether. There was no sense of partnership in that conversation—no curiosity, no reassurance, no effort to help me understand what came next. Just a quiet closing of the door. At my second visit, he couldn’t even find my chart. He wasn’t able to tell me whether anything h

The moments before something life-changing often don’t feel the way you expect them to. One of the most powerful examples comes from a deeply personal moment in my own life—midway through my career, when I was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor. Before my surgery, my dad and I weren’t sitting in silence or speaking in hushed, serious tones. We were joking. Laughing, even. We started comparing the upcoming surgery to a football game. We made a deal— No “4th and 22”

My disagreements with medical professionals had to be temporarily put on hold when a more urgent health issue arose. One evening, I went to an urgent care center after taking a spectacular fall. My hip had swollen to impressive proportions and was decorated with bruising dramatic enough to qualify as modern art. At the front desk, the receptionist asked for my name and told me to wait. After a few minutes she led me to an exam room. She didn’t look at me long enough to notice

In my  healthcare  presentations, I challenge healthcare heroes to treat each patient as a whole person—not a diagnosis, not a room number, not a checklist.   But what does that actually look like?   For me, it looked like a whale poster.   After my brain tumor removal, I was transferred to a second hospital for rehabilitation. I was working with a speech therapist named Michelle. Speech therapy in the early days can feel mechanical—repeating sounds, practicing simple words,

Healthcare educators sometimes hesitate when they hear the words empathy training. Will it feel too emotional? Too abstract? Too “extra”? What I see instead is something very different. Learners don’t become overwhelmed. They become grounded. Programs that intentionally integrate empathy consistently report stronger engagement and fewer communication breakdowns during training. Why? Because empathy helps people stay steady when things are hard—for patients and providers. And

Respiratory therapists will always be one of my favorite medical professionals. (Second favorite, if I’m being honest—right after the nurse who gave me morphine.) Humor aside, my respect for RTs is deeply personal. When I was recovering from brain surgery, I spent nine months in the hospital. During that time, a respiratory therapist performed one of the most invasive and painful procedures I experienced. I can still picture the moment clearly: lying in a hospital bed, alread

Empathy isn’t just about being kind. It’s about helping people rise — without letting them fall.

W hen I first started teaching healthcare students about empathy, I quickly realized that listening is so much more than just hearing words. It’s about truly understanding the person in front of you—their fears, their hopes, their story. That’s why mastering active listening strategies is so critical. These skills don’t just improve conversations; they build trust, deepen connections, and create care that truly matters. If you want to foster genuine empathy and enhance your c

In early September, 2006, about six weeks following a “routine” brain tumor removal, I was transferred from the surgical hospital to a rehabilitation facility. I had regular occupational, physical and speech therapy six days per week. My speech therapist, who exemplified the expression of empathy in healthcare, used methods to stimulate my swallowing reflex. She swabbed the back of my throat and my uvula (the thing that hangs down in the back of the throat) with cold, lemon-f

Every time I present on empathy, I walk away with new insights. One truth remains constant:  empathy is more than “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.”  It’s not just a feeling—it’s an action. And that action can be simple, powerful, and transformative. Rethinking Empathy We often hear that empathy means imagining how someone else feels. But let’s be honest—that’s not always realistic. Can we truly know what it’s like to live with chronic pain, fear, or sadness if we ha

<p>I am writing this on July 26, 2010. I can&#8217;t help but think about this day, four years ago. I woke up feeling hopeful that my pain would soon be over. I had been feeling sick for months, and I had every reason to believe that my surgery would be successful. My dad and step-mom, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I went for one of my regular visits to my optometrist. I see special ophthalmologists too, due to the damage to my cornea that occurred in the hospital, but I wanted my long-time optometrist to be in charge of my overall eye care. During the examination another doctor sat in to observe. I asked if [&hellip;]</p>