Author: Jill Thistlethwaite
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Empathy: Underpinning practice but vulnerable to stress
Look at most lists of the attributes of a good health professional and you are sure to find empathy. Ask a student to define empathy and you are likely to hear varying answers. In addition, there is frequently confusion between empathy and sympathy. As a desired attribute, there is pressure to assess for empathy and therefore tools…
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Imposter syndrome: complex & common?
Every so often there is a surge in articles in which well-known people talk about their experiences of imposter syndrome, also known as the imposter phenomenon. In the last few years we have heard from Taylor Swift,[1]Jacinda Ardern,[2] Tom Hanks,[3] and ‘the pain of parental imposter syndrome’.[4] The prevalence of the condition varies from 9 to 82% depending on…
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Testing times
Towards the end of the high school year in Australia, news programs cover the year 12 examinations that help decide a student’s career path, such as going to university. Students are filmed sitting at individual desks writing with pens on paper, just as I did at age 18 decades ago and just as generations of pupils…
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Getting to know you…
How much should a health professional know about a patient or client? When I consult with a patient new to me and new to the practice, I know their name, address, gender and age but typically little else. When I see these bare demographic details on the computer prior to meeting the person, I am already…
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Babel – big themes wrapped in an gripping story
This is a work of speculative fiction set mainly amongst the ivory towers of Oxford in 1830s England. Babel is one such tower, officially known as the Royal Institute of Translation, which is rich with silver rather than ivory. Herein is the industrial revolution, the opium wars in China and the lack of opportunity for…
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I can’t remember the first time I heard the term ‘clinical reasoning’, but it wasn’t mentioned when I was in medical school. We were brought up on the concept of the ‘differential diagnosis’, which was introduced by William Osler (1849-1919),[1] an English physician working in Canada who promulgated the then radical idea of medical students spending more…
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First do no harm – but to err is human
During my hospital-based training, a senior clinician advised me that it would be unlikely that I would go through my medical career without receiving any complaints about my work. He was right. As health professionals we tread the line between doing no harm and keeping patients safe, while being human and therefore not omnipotent. Fortunately for me,…
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Mud, burnout and doing our best
Before I knackered my knees, I was an ardent fell runner in the north of England (fells are rugged moor-covered hills). I even entered fell races, which could be quite competitive. The fell running community was mostly friendly but included an obsessive minority after personal bests at all costs. One time I was nearing the end of a…
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Language, context & communication
I am learning Italian. A new language is difficult at my age but also a good exercise for the brain. The app I am using is a fun way to tackle the basics, with exercises that include listening to sentences and then translating them. This reminds me how easy it may be to listen but difficult…
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Learning from stories: ghosts and devils
Humans love stories. We love both telling and listening to stories. People particularly seem to like stories about health and illness, and about real and fictional health professionals doing their jobs. Television, film and literature are awash with medical dramas and autobiographical narratives that influence the way health care is perceived. Health professionals like to swap stories of…
Health professional education and practice 