This issue’s cover story aptly describes the traits that make our pediatric emergency doctors so effective. Arguably, those very same traits are crucial for clinicians in every other pediatric specialty, from adolescent medicine to pulmonology.

That said, we believe that one of the skills highlighted in “… STAT!” is particularly crucial for pediatric clinicians serving young patients and their families: That skill, which is admittedly in short supply these days throughout much of our society, is empathy.

As doctors who have devoted our careers to pediatrics, we’ve experienced firsthand the power of empathy — of being finely tuned in to the feelings and emotions of our young patients and their caregivers as they grapple with difficult diagnoses, potentially painful treatments and sometimes uncertain outcomes. Fear, disbelief, anxiety, sadness — as well as optimism, determination and hope — are all part of the palette of emotions that greet us each day as we make our rounds.

In response, all of us at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center aim to model the skills that exemplify empathy. We listen actively and we do all that we can to understand and experience the emotions and perspectives of those we are caring for, both patients and their families. Not only is demonstrating empathy the right thing to do as human beings; we know that it results in better outcomes for our patients. Studies have found that patients who rate their doctors as having higher empathy are able to connect with them better — and thus are more apt to adhere to their treatments and to experience greater control of their symptoms.

Simply put, empathetic clinicians are the cornerstones of good medicine.

Margaret “Maggie” Moon, M.D., M.P.H.
Co-Director and Pediatrician-in-Chief, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D.
Co-Director and Surgeon-in-Chief, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center