(Original
www.hospitalimpact.com)
I was blessed to have dinner with a skillful, heart-centered physician the other night. At one point in our conversation he looked up at me and confessed, "I assume way too much."
Of course I could not let this seemingly disjointed comment lapse and pressed for more information.
"We doctors, we are great with the 'what' and the 'how' of healthcare. But we are terrible with the 'why.'" He then connected the missing "why" to his habit of making assumptions.
"I can tell patients all day long that they must eat right (the what) and even how to do so, but too often I don't tell them the why. And if I do, most times I don't share the specific why that will truly touch them. The why that will actually engage my patient and lead to a change in behavior," he said. "Too often I assume I know all I need to know about my patient when I truly don't have a clue."
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