Lessons on caring: wisdom from patients who changed us

In the sacred spaces of serious illness, dying and bereavement, patients and families are our greatest teachers. In this feature, we reflect on lessons drawn from years of work in palliative medicine, integrating bedside experiences, practical guidance and narrative reflections to illuminate how, by serving others, we too are changed. The lessons are additionally grounded in literature stemming from clinical experience and interprofessional scholarship. This report foregrounds lived experience as a source of clinical knowledge, encouraging human-centred practice. Offered with gratitude to the patients and families who entrust us with their stories, this report is intended as both a reflective guide and a teaching tool for clinicians seeking to practise with greater humility, presence and intention.

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Publication Details

Journal
BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care
Published
2026-07-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1136/spcare-2026-006534
Primary Topic
Empathy and Medical Education
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Lessons on caring: wisdom from patients who changed us

William E. Rosa, Jared Rubenstein, Tamryn Fowler, Rachel Rusch et al.
BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care
Empathy and Medical Education
article

Lessons on caring: wisdom from patients who changed us

William E. Rosa, Jared Rubenstein, Tamryn Fowler, Rachel Rusch, Heather Bemis, Gitanjli Arora, Richard E. Leiter, Allison Silverstein, Ira Byock, Akilah Burford, Paul Galchutt, Heather Coats, Tricia Mamer
article en

Abstract

In the sacred spaces of serious illness, dying and bereavement, patients and families are our greatest teachers. In this feature, we reflect on lessons drawn from years of work in palliative medicine, integrating bedside experiences, practical guidance and narrative reflections to illuminate how, by serving others, we too are changed. The lessons are additionally grounded in literature stemming from clinical experience and interprofessional scholarship. This report foregrounds lived experience as a source of clinical knowledge, encouraging human-centred practice. Offered with gratitude to the patients and families who entrust us with their stories, this report is intended as both a reflective guide and a teaching tool for clinicians seeking to practise with greater humility, presence and intention.

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care
Dartmouth College (US), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), Rush University Medical Center (US), St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (US), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (US), Children's Hospital of Los Angeles (US), Harvard University (US), Stanford Health Care (US), Children's Health Council (US), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (US), BC Children's Hospital (CA), Vancouver Native Health Society (CA), Rush University (US), University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (US), University of Colorado Denver (US)
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Empathy and Medical Education
DOISourceOpenAlex
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