“Listening to someone's story costs less than expensive diagnostic testing but is key to healing and diagnosis.”

    I believe listening is powerful Medicine.

    Studies have shown it takes a physician about 18 seconds to interrupt a patient after he begins talking.

    It was Sunday. I had one last patient to see. I approached her room in a hurry and stood at the doorway. She was an older woman, sitting at the edge of the bed, struggling to put socks on her swollen feet. I crossed the threshold, spoke quickly to the nurse, scanned her chart noting she was in stable condition. I was almost in the clear.

    I leaned on the bedrail looking down at her. She asked if I could help put on her socks. Instead, I launched into a monologue that went something like this: "How are you feeling? Your sugars and blood pressure were high but they're better today. The nurse mentioned you're anxious to see your son who's visiting you today. It's nice to have family visit from far away. I bet you really look forward to seeing him."

    She stopped me with a stern, authoritative voice. "Sit down, doctor. This is my story, not your story."

    I was surprised and embarrassed. I sat down. I helped her with the socks. She began to tell me that her only son lived around the corner from her, but she had not seen him in five years. She believed that the stress of this contributed greatly to her health problems. After hearing her story and putting on her socks, I asked if there was anything else I could do for her. She shook her head no and smiled. All she wanted me to do was to listen.

    Each story is different. Some are detailed; others are vague. Some have a beginning, middle and end. Others wander without a clear conclusion. Some are true; others not. Yet all those things do not really matter. What matters to the storyteller is that the story is heard — without interruption, assumption or judgment.

    Listening to someone's story costs less than expensive diagnostic testing but is key to healing and diagnosis.

    I often thought of what that woman taught me, and I reminded myself of the importance of stopping, sitting down and truly listening. And, not long after, in an unexpected twist, I became the patient, with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at age 31. Now, 20 years later, I sit all the time — in a wheelchair.

    For as long as I could, I continued to see patients from my chair, but I had to resign when my hands were affected. I still teach med students and other health care professionals, but now from the perspective of physician and patient.

    I tell them I believe in the power of listening. I tell them I know firsthand that immeasurable healing takes place within me when someone stops, sits down and listens to my story.

    倾听病人的诉说比昂贵的诊断测试要省钱,但它却是诊断和治愈的关键。

    我相信倾听是功效强大的药物。

    有调查表明,病人陈述18秒后,内科医生会在就打断他的讲话。

    记得那天是星期天,我就剩最后一个病人要看了。我急匆匆的到了她的病房站在了门口。她上了年纪,正坐在床边费力的往她那肿胀的脚上穿袜子。我迈过门槛,语速很快的和护士说着话,细看了一下病人的图表,她没什么,病情很稳定。我几乎要忙完了。

    我斜靠在床栏杆上俯视她。他问我能不能帮她穿上袜子。我没回答,却滔滔不绝地说了大概像下面这样的话:“您今天感觉怎么样?您的血糖和血压本来很高,但是今天好多了。护士说您的儿子今天要来看您,您急于见到他。有家人远道来探望真的是件好事。我敢打赌您一定很期待见到他吧。”

    她用严肃的命令的语气打断了我:“坐下,医生。这是我的故事,不是你的。”

    我很吃惊,感觉很尴尬。我坐下了,帮她穿好袜子。她告诉我他儿子就住在她家那条街的街角,但是她已经有5年没见过他了。她认为这样的压力是造成她健康问题的主要原因。当听完了这些并帮她穿好袜子后,我问她还有什么可以帮助她?她微笑着摇摇头表示没有了。她只是希望我能听她倾诉。

    每一个故事都不一样。有的很详细,有的很模糊,有的有开始,中间和结尾,有的却没有一个明确的结论,有的是真实的,有的是虚构的。然而这些并不重要。对于倾诉者来说,重要的是他们的故事有人倾听,而无需打断、假设或判断。

    倾听别人的诉说比昂贵的诊断测试要省钱，但它却是诊断和治愈的关键。

    我经常想起那个老妇人给我讲的故事，我也经常提醒自己停下来，坐下去，真正倾听的重要性。不久之后，在我31岁的时候由于一次意外扭伤，我成了病人，被诊断出患有多发性硬化症。现在20年过去了，我一直都坐在轮椅上。

    在我能做到的时候，我坐在轮椅上还坚持看病人。但是当我的手也收到影响时，我就不得不辞职了。我现在仍然在教医学专业的学生和保健人员，但是现在是从医生和病人的双重角度来教。我告诉他们我相信倾听的力量。我告诉他们当有人停下来，做下去倾听我的故事时，我知道我的病正在被治愈。