Compassion is not the soft skill you might think it is….

I’ve always believed that empathy and compassion were two of the most important traits a human being could have. The ability to recognize how some else is feeling and then respond kindly to ease suffering is essential for healthcare providers, emergency services professionals, parents, and quite frankly everyone else. 

In their wonderful book, Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference Stephen Trzeciak, MD, MPH and Anthony Mazzarelli, MD, JD, MBE do a masterful job of walking us through a mountain of scientific evidence that compassion makes a tangible and meaningful difference in healthcare for patients and providers.

They define compassion, “as the emotional response to another’s pain or suffering, involving an authentic desire to help.” Usually compassion is thought of as a soft skill unlike medications or surgical procedures. It turns out that this soft skill produces real results here are some examples:

·      In a study of 136 trauma patients admitted to a Level 1 trauma center, the odds of a patient reported good outcome were four times higher if the physician that provided care was particularly compassionate. 

·      A randomized controlled study from Harvard Medical School evaluated patients with irritable bowel syndrome. They were randomized to one of three groups. 1) Control group observation only, 2) acupuncture, 3) augmented patient provider relationship with compassion.  The proportion of patients who had adequate relief of symptoms, including abdominal pain was double the proportion in the control group.

·      A study of physician compassion related to diabetes care at Thomas Jefferson University.  29 physicians were assessed for their level of compassion and 891 patients under their care were assessed. Patients who were treated by physicians with high levels of compassion had 80% better blood glucose control than those treated by physicians with low compassion scores.  

Lastly the practice of compassion is the anecdote to the epidemic of burnout in healthcare providers.  “A rigorous systematic review published in Burnout Research reported that the vast majority of published studies testing the association between compassion and burnout in healthcare provider found an inverse correlation.”  The Dalai Lama said it best, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”