The grand illusion

I was listening to the radio the other day and there was a interview with a doctor who was talking about practicing medicine in the United States. He spoke of a doctor that he had interviewed that said something that stuck with me. I have been meditating on it a bit and thought that it was a very profound statement. This doctor mentioned that the most powerful tool he has at his disposal as a physician when meeting with a patient is the creation of the illusion that he has "no one else to talk to and nowhere else to go". He has found that there are a class of patients that just want the interaction to end quickly and he does not spend as much time with them. There is a separate class of patients that need (and the term is need) more interaction with him and he gives it to them. He has found that he still gets to see as many patients as he would have otherwise seen if not employing the creation of this illusion.

Obviously there is quite a bit of skill and knowledge needed to be a physician, but what I find interesting about his comments is that he found that time and listening not only sets him apart from other doctors, but that it is the most powerful tool he has in his arsenal. That statement subjugates all of the training he has undertaken and knowledge he has acquired to the fact that he listens...and listens well. In social work school we were told that what often separates a good social worker from a poor one is the genuine care an concern that the good one has for their clients. With statements like the one the doctor made I am beginning to believe it.

However, for the loved ones in my life, I don't want to create this illusion. I want to get lost in them when they engage me and desire my attention. It is sad how I can let everything and anything crowd out their demands but never crowd out the demands of other, less important things in deference to theirs. What profound power I would have. What profound benefit it would be to them.