After a tumultuous few years in healthcare, patients and healthcare professionals are beginning to find footing in the new normal. While face coverings and social distancing may no longer be required in certain settings, the remnants of feelings of isolation, fear, uncertainty, loneliness, and unaddressed trauma of working the frontlines during the pandemic continue to persist for many. Ongoing symptoms of long COVID may even be a sobering reminder that some of the effects of the global pandemic are here to stay. This is no different from many elderly patients who, in addition to these challenges, may have suffered alone due to visitation restrictions or may have even lost loved ones to the virus.

Forging into the future means leading with compassion above all else. For healthcare professionals, compassion reigns supreme on the list of skills and competencies. After all, compassion toward patients is linked to faster recovery, improved outcomes, and patient adherence. Compassion is also at the core of patient-centered care. Is compassion essential when working with seniors, and can it actually improve their quality of life? Discover how leading with compassion in your healthcare role can help you embody the three points of the Hippocratic oath and keep you and your patients happy, healthy, and thriving.

Current Challenges for Senior Patients in America

The senior population (patients aged 65 and older) is growing significantly. According to The Administration for Community Living, an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the senior population grew 36% (54.1 million) from 2009 to 2019 and is slated to reach 94.7 million in 2060.

Paralleled to the growing senior population is a need for compassionate, patient-centered care for the most vulnerable in our communities. Here are a few challenges the senior patient population faces in America and how having compassion in your professional toolkit can be key to overcoming them.

Loneliness
A lost sense of purpose
Illness or chronic disease
Loss of Independence/mobility
Financial insecurity
Difficulty with everyday tasks
Lack of access to healthcare
End-of-life care and planning

4 Ways to Show Compassion Toward Senior Patients

From the Latin prefix “com,” which means “to suffer,” and pati, which means “with,” compassion literally means “to suffer with.” But compassion is more than just suffering with another person—compassion is the intrinsic feeling that emanates when faced with another person’s suffering and feeling compelled to help.

Caring with compassion makes the person on the receiving end feel respected, builds resilience, promotes faster recovery, and makes your patients feel more comfortable and supported in some of their most vulnerable moments.

The Dalai Lama once said, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” Here are four ways to turn your compassion into action and accomplish metrics that matter in healthcare delivery.

Active Listening. In the once-patriarchal culture that dominated healthcare, it was commonplace for doctors to talk and for patients to listen. Today, especially in the growing, evidence-based movement of patient-centered care, there is a renewed focus on listening to patients. Not only does this help with more accurate diagnoses and improving outcomes, but it is also an organic way to build trust and connection between one another. Many seniors are lonely and feel “put out to pasture”—taking the time to listen to their concerns, challenges, and even stories of their full and fascinating lives can easily foster a connection that yields better outcomes and faster recovery. Try asking your patients about some of their most memorable moments in life or what certain historical events (like the civil rights movement) were like in real time. Such storytelling may be just as beneficial and exciting for you as it is for the patient.
Empathy. Empathy, or the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, is one of the greatest skills a healthcare professional can possess. And just as most communication is nonverbal, the same is true for empathy. It is not so much a focus on the words you use as it is your body language, tone, delivery, and ability to be comforting in moments of distress. Showing empathy can be as simple as listening to understand another’s perspective rather than responding, using a softer tone when speaking, staying present, and focusing on their needs and feelings to deliver the best care.
Find common ground. Establishing commonalities is a great way to build trust and improve communication with those you are caring for. Compassion, or suffering together, makes it much easier to find common ground, which can facilitate better understanding and make a meaningful connection. In these little moments, you are reminded of the purpose you serve as a caretaker, which is greater than yourself.
Stay positive in the face of suffering. Remaining positive in the face of anguish and suffering is not only a valuable skill for managing stress and building resilience in the workplace. Still, it can also make you a more compassionate caretaker and improve your emotional intelligence (EI). Possessing the self-awareness to filter out unhelpful or destructive emotions and leverage emotions that are helpful and productive can make or break some of the scariest moments in your patients’ lives.

As healthcare professionals navigate the evolving landscape of the new normal, leading with compassion becomes paramount. The challenges faced by senior patients, such as loneliness, loss of independence, and lack of access to healthcare, require healthcare providers to embody compassion in their roles. By actively listening, showing empathy, finding common ground, and staying positive in the face of suffering, healthcare professionals can make a significant difference in the lives of their senior patients. ChenMed recognizes the importance of compassion in delivering patient-centered care, and we invite you to learn more about a career with ChenMed that allows you to contribute to improving the quality of life for seniors. Together, let us embrace compassion and create a healthcare environment where patients can thrive and feel supported in their most vulnerable moments.

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