Richard M. Frankel, Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Date: Friday, April 1, 2016, 2 p.m.
Location: Campus Center Theatre, Lower Level
Empathy May Not Cure Disease but It Can Alleviate Suffering on Both Sides of the Stethoscope
In an era increasingly marked by interactions with speech recognition software, “If you would like to speak with a human being to make an appointment, please press or say one now.”, Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interfaces (SIRI), shared time and space with your doctor, and her or his electronic medical records, what can be said for the role of human emotions in healthcare and for that matter in everyday life? Are we losing or have we already lost the ability to respond to the suffering of others with genuine empathy? Do the daily demands we live with leave us in a chronic state of distraction and “compassion fatigue”? Recent research from disciplines as far flung as neuroscience and the humanities suggests that empathy and empathic communication, in particular, have a critical role to play in health and in building healing relationships even where cure is no longer possible.
Richard M. Frankel, professor of medicine and geriatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine at IUPUI, will reflect on a 35-year personal and professional journey as a health services researcher and family member to understand how empathic communication between physicians and patients has immediate and downstream effects on the quality and outcomes of care on both sides of the stethoscope.
The Last Lecture Series offers the university community an opportunity to hear reflections on life’s lessons and meaning from a current or retired IUPUI colleague of exceptional merit. This lecture is sponsored by the IUPUI Senior Academy, the IUPUI Office of Academic Affairs, and the IU Foundation.
