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Neil S. Prose, MD

Arch Dermatol. 2003;139:21-22.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A year ago, I conducted an American Academy of Dermatology breakfast session on "communication skills for the practicing dermatologist." As a beginning exercise, I asked those in attendance to list the things they say and do in their practice to make patients feel more comfortable and cared for. As I jotted suggestions onto a flip chart, we saw that each of us had developed our own creative ways of expressing empathy and concern. These were specific phrases and actions that had become our valuable tools in the day-to-day work of caring for patients. Participants were proud of these "tricks of the trade" and were delighted to share and discuss them, but it seemed like such a rare opportunity. Why, one participant wondered, is so much of our continuing education devoted to diagnosis and treatment, and so little to the work of expressing empathy and developing relationships . . . [Full Text of this Article]

From the Division of Dermatology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC.