In the patient's shoes

RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE

This incident happened a few months ago in our psychiatry clinic. We had put in place a universal rule in the clinic, for patients as well as for the staff, to leave footwear on a stand at the entrance. Following a busy session one morning, I was rushing to go to an important lunchtime meeting. To my horror and consternation, I found my pair of shoes missing! What followed perhaps were Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief. My instant reaction was that of being in a state of shock and denial that such a thing was happening to me. I had little time to lose and had to get going to the meeting.

Following a quick enquiry, I found an extra pair of black shoes lying on the stand and assumed that someone had ended up leaving their shoes for mine. I had by then moved on to Kubler-Ross’ second stage-- that of anger. I began to wonder if this was a prank that someone had played on me. My anger was focussed in two directions, one that was external and the other was channeled inwards. My anger, which later turned inwards, was me blaming myself for not being careful. With little time left, I rushed to the meeting wearing the shoes that were left behind. Slipping my feet into the shoes, I realised that they were worn out and that one of the soles had a gaping hole in it!

What transpired in my head over the next few hours were feelings of empathy for this patient and many like him who went about their lives with personal hardships. The worn-out shoes were perhaps only symbolic of the adversities the patients were going through when in pain – both physical and emotional. The medical definition of empathy that I had learnt was that of ‘developing emotional resonance and rapport with patients’. In common parlance in psychology, we describe empathy as being ‘in the patient’s shoes’ which I was in literally!

Our administration team at the clinic did a good job of contact tracing and the shoes were exchanged the next day. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to ask the patient what his experience was being in the doctors’ shoes.