J Med Assoc Thai 2007; 90 (5):1032

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Kindness
Phaosavasdi S Mail, Thaneepanichskul S , Tannirandorn Y , Phupong V , Uerpairojkit B , Pruksapongs C , Kajanapitak A

Doctors are often requested to be kind in helping poor patients, frightened and upset patients, patients who feel inhibited and uneasy discussing health problems as well as patients who feel that they might lose their jobs(1). What doctors can do to help is to be kind to their patients who are insecure both physically and mentally. The easiest way for doctors to show their kindness is to be considerate when expressing opinions that might hurt their patients’ feelings. Please try to comfort them. Though some doctors have to start doing this, it is important. What might be perceived as a threat that forces patients to follow the doctors’ instructions should be reconsidered and rephrased(2,3). What should patients do to see kind doctors? Most patients hardly follow their doctor’s instructions because they are not sure whether what their doctor has said was an order or a scolding. Since patients are suffering from their sickness and would like to recover, they try their best to be nice to doctors, nurses or even hospital workers when they go to hospital. When patients are not scolded by hospital staff, they feel very good and that it is a lucky day. They feel like their suffering is almost gone. Because of this feeling, they can eat and sleep well. Starting to converse kindly may be difficult for some doctors because they talk to their patients abruptly. They do not talk to them as gently as they are supposed to do. Doctors may often talk abruptly to their family. In reality, doctors are kind by nature. If not, they would not be able to be doctors. But studies have to be conducted to determine whether the environment in the hospital or the society changes their nature. Doctors have problems with their patients because they do not talk to their patients politely, often speaking very loudly as though they are commanding the patients and not listening to them(4). This reprehensible behavior should not be shown to patients who need to be treated in a gentle and calm fashion so they can recover both physically and mentally as quickly as possible. This is the highest goal that both doctors and patients would like to achieve. As a result, the authors would like to ask doctors to be kind to their patients because it is generally accepted that doctors are of high caliber and patients need kind doctors; consequently, it is not difficult for doctors to adjust their behaviors to meet the needs of their patients.

Keywords: Medical ethics, Kindness


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