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Letters

Humanising medical practice: the role of empathy

Marion Lustig
MJA 2008; 188 (4): 263-264

To the Editor: I congratulate Haslam on his excellent overview of the role of empathy in medicine.1 He rightly reminds us that empathy is not vague or ill defined; rather, its presence improves clinical outcomes, and it can be both learned and lost. I would go further and argue that empathy is not an optional extra but a clinical competence essential for sound medical practice, no matter what our specialty. All clinical practice requires a doctor–patient relationship, the core skill of which is empathy.

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©The Medical Journal of Australia 2007 www.mja.com.au PRINT ISSN: 0025-729X ONLINE ISSN: 1326-5377