How Should Students and Trainees Be Taught to Support Patients With Undiagnosed Conditions?

Abstract

Patients with undiagnosed conditions often experience frustration and lose trust in health care. This article suggests how faculty in academic health centers can prepare their students and trainees to respond with care to the vulnerabilities and needs of patients seeking accurate diagnoses. Specifically, this article suggests the importance of clinicians' roles in validating patients' knowledge claims about their illness experiences. Such validation during clinical encounters can happen when clinicians prioritize symptom management, acknowledge uncertainty as an emotionally painful part of a patient's illness experiences, articulate limitations of clinical knowledge, and express values such as care, partnership, and compassion in their relationships with patients.