R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Even more difficult to teach than to define

Abstract

Beach et al's paper is a useful reminder of the important role respect has in professionalism and will hopefully lead to renewed scholarship on the concept. However, we believe that learning is a complex process influenced by and sometimes inhibited by many factors, and that the concept of "respect for patients as persons" cannot be adopted by trainees simply by telling them it is something they ought to have. We propose that to help trainees develop and sustain this duty, educators must: 1) acknowledge and explore personal and systems factors that may serve as barriers to the respect of patients as persons; 2) provide a supportive and respectful environment for trainees to learn and reflect upon the difficult task of respecting patients; and 3) identify behaviors that display respect for patients and develop effective ways to teach and measure such behaviors. Ensuring that physicians give "a little respect" to their patients is going to take a lot more of our work. © 2007 Society of General Internal Medicine.