‘I just have admitted an interesting sepsis’. Do we dehumanize our patients?

'I just have admitted an interesting sepsis'. Do we dehumanize our patients? Erwin J. O. Kompanje Margo M. van Mol Marjan D. Nijkamp E. J. O. Kompanje ()) M. M. van Mol brain injury. Her pupils were fixed, Glasgow Coma Scale alleviate their suffering, we should be able to be there as a cannot hold two cognitions that are inconsistent with one witness and provide support through our presence. another; he will experience the tension of an aversive Health care providers who are speaking about patients motivational state. This is a pressure that he will seek to in terms of diseases, organs or operation techniques do so remove, among other ways, by altering one of the two because it is practical. This is easier to remember in dissonant cognitions. How do health care providers communication about the patient than using their real reduce this tension? By changing his/her attitudes so that names. Because our primary interest lays in the disease, they are in line with our behaviour (‘dehumanizing’ the failing organ, the pathophysiological puzzle and not in patients so the health care providers do not feel the pain the person behind this, it is easier to communicate with and suffering). Failing to do so may lead to burnout, colleagues in terms like ‘the interesting sepsis’ or the compassion fatigue or even post-traumatic stress disorder. ‘bad-looking subarachnoid haemorrhage’. Furthermore, So, yes, we dehumanize patients. But this is inevitable, the patients do not engage our medial prefrontal cortex, adaptive and even morally and psychologically acceptbecause of social-economic differences; conditions able. As long as health care providers know that their resulting from lifestyle choices that are not ours and patients are suffering and in pain, they do not have to feel because they, most importantly, are very distant from our it. social network. Finally, disease, pain, suffering and death are a daily part of the work in the ICU. The health care Compliance with ethical standards providers expect it and are not shocked or surprised to see it 24/7, 365 days a year. Through the ‘dehumanization’ of dCeocnlaflriec.ts of interest The authors have no conflict of interest to our patients we can deal with this. An additional explanation can be found in the theory of cognitive dissociation. According to Festinger, a person