A staggering statistic of today’s medical care is that in the average doctor-patient interaction, the doctor interrupts the patient within 18 seconds. This quick interruption offers very little time for a connection to be formed between a doctor and their patient. This transactional approach hinders the clinicians’ ability to provide solutions to patients who may not feel as if they were unable to express their true needs. To discover the steps being taken to raise the bedside manner bar, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with two authors about medical journeys, kinder doctors, and resilient patients. Dr. Adam Stern is a psychiatrist and author of Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training. He is back on the program to share how he teaches the softer side of medicine to doctors in training and the therapeutic power of listening. David Richman is an author, public speaker, and endurance athlete who interviewed hundreds of people about their medical journey and the impact of cancer on their lives. His book, Cycle of Lives: 15 People's Stories, 5,000 Miles, and a Journey Through the Emotional Chaos of Cancer shares those stories and offers insights into how caregivers can find relief from the pressure of compassion. 

About Lisa’s guests:

Adam Stern, MD, is a psychiatrist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He has written extensively about his experience as a physician including in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the American Journal of Psychiatry. He lives with his family near Boston.

Book: Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training

David Richman is an author, public speaker, and endurance athlete whose mission is to form more meaningful human connections through storytelling. His first book, Winning in the Middle of the Pack, discussed how to get more out of ourselves than ever imagined. With Cycle of Lives, David shares stories of people overcoming trauma and delves deeply into their emotional journeys with cancer. He continues to do Ironman triathlons and recently completed a solo 4,700-mile bike ride.

Book: Cycle of Lives: 15 People's Stories, 5,000 Miles, and a Journey Through the Emotional Chaos of Cancer

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