Abstract
Is whole person care a clear solution to problems plaguing twenty-first century medicine, including the paradox that we have more security, health, and material comfort, and live longer than humans at any other time in history, and at the same time appear to be more unhappy, anxious, and dissatisfied than ever before? We believe that mindful whole person care is a solution to the problem of unhappy patients who increasingly complain about the care they are receiving and to healthcare workers who are increasingly stressed out and burned out on the job [1], despite greater technological ability to solve medical problems than has ever been available to mankind. The solution that we are suggesting is not window dressing or simply better manners, but a change in the patient–healthcare worker relationship that takes lessons from the palliative care movement and applies them in a much wider context. But make no mistake, whole person care is not palliative care by another name, but a new paradigm for practicing medicine that is relevant to all parts and specialties of medical practice.
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Notes
- 1.
Marc did the interview, which went well, but he was disappointed with the resultant TV program, which severely curtailed his contribution. This improved after a conversation with my colleague who helped him understand better the context of the program. He continued to do relatively well and was discharged from the hospital to a long-term care residence. At the time of writing (2 years later), he continued to have serious problems with his health but was splitting his time between the residence and the apartment of his new girl friend. He was very happy that his story as told here would be included in a book for doctors and health care professionals. He specifically requested that his real name be used because he felt his story was part of his legacy.
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Hutchinson, T.A. (2011). Whole Person Care: Conclusions. In: Hutchinson, T. (eds) Whole Person Care. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9440-0_18
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