Physician Wellbeing, Emotions, and Medical Communication

The overarching aim of our research is to explore physician wellbeing and the role of emotions in medical practice. Our main focus is to provide a better understanding of how physician emotions are present in everyday practice, how are they managed, what is their impact on physician’s wellbeing and on patient care, what do families expect, whether emotions and communication can be influenced by self-reflection, and the place of emotions in the teaching of medicine. These questions will be answered in general, but also in the end-of-life context.

The main significance of this study lies in its timeliness and in its comprehensive approach to a complex subject in medicine. It responds to current and future challenges of caring for an ageing population at a time when new technologies place greater challenges on decision making and on the physician’s ability to communicate with their patients.