Their first meeting was “like a blind date,” says Michael Furze. A skin-cancer survivor, Furze was paired with student, Tara Murty, for Stanford School of Medicine’s yearlong class, “Walk With Me”. “I thought it'd just be a learning experience," Murty recalls. "But it's been such a joy to have a friend in Michael."
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Read MoreFostering Understanding
"We wanted to solidify empathy and compassion early," Says Erika Schillinger, MD, associate chief for education at Stanford School of Medicine. "We want our students to have an appreciation for the whole of a patient's life, not just their illness." The class reflects a national trend among medical schools as they work to foster an understanding of the patient experience in students.
"One of the best tools a caregiver has is the ability to listen," said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine. "By understanding what patients go through, what their concerns are beyond the appointments and treatments, the students learn to care for patients as individuals who have their own goals and hopes for the future."
Their Shared Book
They met monthly, trading a journal back-and-forth, co-authoring a shared memoir. In it, Murty described her adjustment to California, while Furze wrote of his sobriety, his winding career path, and his cancer — now in remission. The class ended months ago, but the friendship endures. For Murty, it confirms her desire to conduct cancer research.
On his pages, Furze wrote of healing:
- "Cancer treatment has been long and hard, using up lots of my time. Doctors and hospitals have eaten up time and energy, leaving little time for building new memories to cherish.”
- "She was to receive the perspective of a patient. I was to get something else from her a fresh young mind filled with hope and ambition. And empathy led to a great deal of healing. The perspective changed from damage to healing."
- "As we share our lives with each other, we can both enjoy the lives we have while admiring and appreciating the life of the other."
On hers, Murty shares how Furzy has shown her “how cancer impacts lives in so many ways.”
- "Our conversations somehow comfortably move from the updates of medical school and the weather to talks of cancer, life, and dying. The weight of these is so clear and yet it's easy to talk with Michael. He is so genuine and open and I can tell he trusts me."
- "Would he ever have imagined his life would be like this? Would he be surprised at the way he has shaped Stanford Medicine? How he has shaped me as I am becoming a doctor?"
- "Sometimes randomness can bring together two people who maybe otherwise would not have intersected. From two different walks; different experiences; different ages, hometowns and favorite meals."
Establishing an authentic relationship with a patient should be a priority, says Dr. Lawrence Piro, an oncologist and president and CEO of the Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai.
The Patient Connection
In order to communicate effectively with patients, Dr. Lawrence Piro, an oncologist and president and CEO of the Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, makes a point of getting to know them as people, first. Some people, he says, like to “go into the weeds,” learning every detail of their treatment from the beginning.
Others want to get comfortable with the general framework of their situation, he says, before digesting the specific details of a diagnosis or treatment plan.
As doctors, we’re often not trained in the best method of communication, Dr. Prio notes. "People will run away from the disease and the treatment if they aren’t learning about it in a way that makes them comfortable," he explains.
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