The Critical Care Commute Podcast The Power of Kindness
Sep 30, 2025
Dr. Suzanne Crowe, a pediatric intensivist and president of the Medical College of Ireland, discusses the transformative power of kindness in healthcare. She suggests that kindness should be considered a 'prescribable intervention' to enhance patient outcomes. The conversation explores how simple acts, like attentive listening, can improve diagnostics and trust with families. Crowe emphasizes the role of leadership in fostering a culture of kindness and shares effective empathy training techniques, all while linking kindness to better healthcare experiences.
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Kindness Acts Like Medicine
- Kindness significantly improves patient outcomes and could be prescribed like a drug.
- Micro-dosing kindness in daily practice reduces mistakes and boosts diagnostic accuracy.
A Small Conference Gesture
- Suzanne noticed a stranger in a conference turning to ask if she could see the screen.
- She used that small act as a personal definition of attentiveness and kindness.
Train And Reinforce Empathy
- Draw out and nurture the kindness already present in colleagues and trainees.
- Provide empathy training and reinforcement to prevent drops in kindness under stress.