English Original
I believe listening is powerful medicine.
Studies have shown it takes a physician about 18 seconds to interrupt a patient after he begins talking.
It was Sunday. I had one last patient to see. I approached her room in a hurry and stood at the doorway. She was an older woman, sitting at the edge of the bed, struggling to put socks on her swollen feet. I crossed the threshold, spoke quickly to the nurse, scanned her chart noting she was in stable condition. I was almost in the clear.
I leaned on the bedrail looking down at her. She asked if I could help put on her socks. Instead, I launched into a monologue: "How are you feeling? Your sugars and blood pressure were high but they're better today. The nurse mentioned you're anxious to see your son who's visiting you today. It's nice to have family visit from far away. I bet you really look forward to seeing him."
She stopped me with a stern, authoritative voice. "Sit down, doctor. This is my story, not your story."
I was surprised and embarrassed. I sat down. I helped her with the socks. She began to tell me that her only son lived around the corner from her, but she had not seen him in five years. She believed that the stress of this contributed greatly to her health problems. After hearing her story and putting on her socks, I asked if there was anything else I could do for her. She shook her head no and smiled. All she wanted me to do was to listen.
Each story is different. Some are detailed; others are vague. Some have a beginning, middle and end. Others wander without a clear conclusion. Some are true; others not. Yet all those things do not really matter. What matters to the storyteller is that the story is heard — without interruption, assumption or judgment.
Listening to someone's story costs less than expensive diagnostic testing but is key to healing and diagnosis.
I often thought of what that woman taught me, and I reminded myself of the importance of stopping, sitting down and truly listening. And, not long after, in an unexpected twist, I became the patient, with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at age 31. Now, 20 years later, I sit all the time — in a wheelchair.
For as long as I could, I continued to see patients from my chair, but I had to resign when my hands were affected. I still teach med students and other health care professionals, but now from the perspective of physician and patient.
I tell them I believe in the power of listening. I tell them I know firsthand that immeasurable healing takes place within me when someone stops, sits down and listens to my story.
中文翻译
我相信倾听是良药。
研究表明，医生平均在患者开始说话后约18秒就会打断他们。
那是个星期天。我还有最后一位病人要看。我匆忙地走向她的病房，站在门口。她是一位年长的女性，坐在床边，正费力地给自己浮肿的脚穿袜子。我跨过门槛，快速地和护士说了几句，扫了一眼她的病历，注意到她情况稳定。我以为自己差不多可以走了。
我靠在床栏上俯视着她。她问我能否帮她穿上袜子。然而，我却开始了一段独白：“您感觉怎么样？您的血糖和血压之前很高，但今天好多了。护士提到您很期待见到今天要来看您的儿子。有家人从远方来探望真好。我敢说您一定非常盼望见到他。”
她用严厉而权威的声音打断了我。“坐下，医生。这是我的故事，不是你的故事。”
我感到惊讶和尴尬。我坐了下来。我帮她穿上了袜子。她开始告诉我，她唯一的儿子就住在附近，但她已经五年没见过他了。她相信这件事带来的压力极大地加剧了她的健康问题。听完她的故事并帮她穿好袜子后，我问她还有什么需要我做的。她摇摇头，微笑着。她希望我做的只是倾听。
每个故事都不同。有些详尽；有些模糊。有些有开头、中间和结尾。有些则漫无边际，没有明确的结论。有些是真实的；有些则不然。然而，所有这些其实都不重要。对讲故事的人来说，重要的是故事被倾听——不被中断、不被臆断、不被评判。
倾听他人的故事比昂贵的诊断测试成本更低，却是治疗和诊断的关键。
我常常想起那位女士教给我的东西，并提醒自己停下脚步、坐下来、真正倾听的重要性。而不久之后，在一个意想不到的转折中，我成了病人，在31岁时被诊断出患有多发性硬化症。如今，20年过去了，我一直坐着——坐在轮椅上。
在力所能及的时候，我继续坐在轮椅上为病人看病，但当我的手也受到影响时，我不得不辞职。我仍然教授医学生和其他医疗保健专业人员，但现在是从医生和患者的双重角度出发。
我告诉他们，我相信倾听的力量。我告诉他们，我亲身经历过，当有人停下来、坐下来倾听我的故事时，无法估量的疗愈就在我内心发生。