All
professional bodies have codes of conduct, expounding the ethical principles
that underpin the manner in which its members are expected to act. For doctors,
the code comes in the guise of a document called Good Medical Practice, published by the General Medical Council
(GMC). Likewise, the House of Commons produces a guidance code for Members of
Parliament, Funeral Directors have theirs, and the Press Complaints Commission
operates a Code of Practice for newspapers. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the
World Congress on Public Health recently took place, there was a publically
displayed list of Principles of Ethical Public Service, listing integrity,
loyalty, transparency, confidentiality, honesty, accountability, serving the
public interest, exercising legitimate authority, impartiality, respect for
law, responsiveness and leadership as pre-requisites for service. In America
there is even a Code of Practice for Columnists. The interesting thing is that
nowhere in these documents appears the word ‘compassion’.
The
Oxford English Dictionary defines
compassion as ‘sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes
of others’. In turn, ‘sympathy’ is the feeling of pity and concern for the
affected person or people; it is showing that one understands their plight.
However,
Kamran Abbasi, editor of the Journal of
the Royal Society of Medicine, recently expressed the opinion that ‘compassion
isn’t even a dirty word in the NHS…with clinicians too preoccupied with
targets, efficiency drives, and restructuring to care for their patients’ (JRSM 105, p. 93).
Yet,
according to a survey by the GMC, compassion, kindness and empathy are
qualities which people feel are important and should be portrayed by doctors. Why
then, do so many codes of practice leave out such important values? Is it that
you can train people to act with all the principles expounded in the Addis
Ababa example above, but cannot enforce a quality that comes from deep within
one’s own personality?
The
Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, recently wrote on the social
network site Twitter (@DalaiLama) that
‘even our personal virtues, such as patience and our sense of ethics, are all
developed in dependence upon others’. He said ‘fear, hatred, and suspicion
narrow your mind - compassion opens it’. In his view, ‘once you realize that
compassion is useful, that it is something really worthwhile, you immediately
develop a willingness to cultivate it’.
To
those who are religious and profess their faith in their daily lives and
actions, the concept of compassion is real and becomes second nature. Many
would agree that compassion helps in effectively communicating with others.
Such action can also be self-rewarding for, again in the words of the Dalai
Lama, ‘if you become more concerned for the welfare of others, you will
experience a sense of calm, inner strength and self-confidence’.
Of
course, self-reward is not principally what serving humankind is all about.
However, nobody should object to a free dose of the ‘feel-good factor’, and if
it means that the behaviour that earned the reward is more likely to be
repeated, then who should complain about that? The sad part about all this is
that ‘tender loving care’ or TLC as it was often known, is no longer seen as an
appropriate form of treatment on its own. Indeed, it is often completely
lacking, even when every other treatment has been exhausted.
Even
in the 21st century, nobody has all the answers, and there is no
cure for all ills. Compassion is often the most valuable tool left in the
armoury and it should be deployed more frequently and effectively by all
healthcare workers. It is also a tool that should be honestly wielded by
everyone in public service (politicians take note), and indeed, by all of us in
our daily interactions with each other. That said, it is not something that can
be learned or fabricated; it needs to be felt. The starting point is to search
deep inside oneself, find that hidden quality, and then bring it to the
surface. The entire world would be a better place if we all put compassion into
it.
First published in the Scunthorpe
Telegraph, Thursday, 24th May 2012.
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