We often think about healthcare in terms of prescriptions and clinical treatments. Rarely, if ever, does empathy come to mind. But in recent years, growing evidence has shown how critical empathy can be in treatment, for both medical practitioners and patients alike.

Knowing, discussing and constantly checking in with a patient about their personal needs and feelings can speed up recovery; or with chronic diagnoses, foster a better quality of life. For emergency medical staff, who have high burnout and suicide rates, it is also vital for them to cultivate empathy for themselves as well as for their colleagues and patients.

The onset of COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of empathy across our society, including healthcare workers and the most vulnerable among us. In this episode, we discuss the benefits of centring empathy in the medical world and its larger implications.

Find out more about empathy and healthcare in Singapore and abroad:
Third Spacing, a podcast series by medical students which explores topics on the fringes of clinical medicine in Singapore.
CNA (2 May 2020). 'We learned to smile with our eyes': Doctors volunteer to care for migrant workers at dormitories hit by COVID-19
CNA (30 April 2020). Compassionate clinicians: Making a lasting impression
The Conversation (7 May 2019). Empathy in healthcare is finally making a comeback
in (12 January 2015). Being Mortal: What matters is not how we live but how we die
Thomas Jefferson University. Jefferson Scale of Empathy

About our guests:

Dr Mohan Tiru

Senior Consultant Emergency Physician at Woodlands Health Campus and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital

Dr Mohan Tiru specialises in emergency medicine, serving as senior consultant at Woodlands Health Campus and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. He is also the chairman of the Ministry of Health’s Residency Advisory Committee (Emergency Medicine) and is deputy chairman of the Medical Board (Surgical and Ambulatory Divisions) at Woodlands Integrated Health Complex. Lastly, Dr Mohan is an associate professor at the National University of Singapore School of Medicine and is the Singapore representative to the board of the Asian Society of Emergency Medicine.

Dr Maleena Suppiah Cavert 

Deputy Director of Clinical Education at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, NUHS 

Dr Maleena helms undergraduate and postgraduate (residency) clinical education and continuing medical education at NUHS. Since 2018, she has been heading staff wellbeing and mental health initiatives at NUHS, collaborating with counterparts in the healthcare sector and the Ministry of Health. Where humanity and compassion are lacking in healthcare, she tries to restore these fundamental practices through training. She is also a certified mindfulness facilitator and works closely with staff and students to enhance resilience and combat burnout. Maleena is also a board director at ALife, a non-profit organisation that assists unsupported mothers and their children. Maleena graduated from King’s College, London and went on to pursue an MBA at ESSEC Business School in Paris. Her doctoral thesis was on empathy and healthcare. She has worked in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, and Singapore, thus having the opportunity to experience and enact cross-cultural empathy.

Find out more about the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), a research centre of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. 

Follow IPS on Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram to keep updated on upcoming events and discussions. 

On Diversity is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, IPS Deputy Director Ong Soh Chin chats with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making, and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society. 

More from On Diversity: 

Episode 1: The Cancelled and the Woke, with career journalist Lydia Lim and poet and writer, Theophilus Kwek

Episode 2: Reclaiming Dementia, with Dr Chen Shiling, dementia physician, and Johnson Soh, founder of SanCare Asia

Episode 3: What is Multiculturalism?, with Low Sze Wee, CEO of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and singer-songwriter Jamiel Said 

Episode 4: Diversity and the Singapore Media, with Mark Tan, founder and CEO of Rice Media, and Dr Chew Han Ei, Senior Research Fellow at IPS Social Lab

Episode 5: Sex and People with Disabilities, with Dr Lohsnah Jeevanandam, Director of the Clinical Psychology Programme at the National University Singapore, and Dr Justin Lee, Senior Research Fellow at the IPS Society and Culture Department.

Episode 6: Arts vs Culture, with Shaza Ishak, Managing Director of Teater Ekamatra, and Clarissa Oon, Head of Communications and Content at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.

We often think about healthcare in terms of prescriptions and clinical treatments. Rarely, if ever, does empathy come to mind. But in recent years, growing evidence has shown how critical empathy can be in treatment, for both medical practitioners and patients alike.
Knowing, discussing and constantly checking in with a patient about their personal needs and feelings can speed up recovery; or with chronic diagnoses, foster a better quality of life. For emergency medical staff, who have high burnout and suicide rates, it is also vital for them to cultivate empathy for themselves as well as for their colleagues and patients.
The onset of COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of empathy across our society, including healthcare workers and the most vulnerable among us. In this episode, we discuss the benefits of centring empathy in the medical world and its larger implications.
Find out more about empathy and healthcare in Singapore and abroad:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/third-spacing/id1519780470">Third Spacing, a podcast series by medical students which explores topics on the fringes of clinical medicine in Singapore.</a></li>
<li>CNA (2 May 2020). <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/doctors-volunteer-care-for-migrant-workers-dormitories-covid19-12694148">'We learned to smile with our eyes': Doctors volunteer to care for migrant workers at dormitories hit by COVID-19</a></li>
<li>CNA (30 April 2020). <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/advertorial/compassionate-clinicians-making-a-lasting-impression-12662538">Compassionate clinicians: Making a lasting impression</a></li>
<li>The Conversation (7 May 2019). <a href="https://theconversation.com/empathy-in-healthcare-is-finally-making-a-comeback-113593">Empathy in healthcare is finally making a comeback</a></li>
<li>in (12 January 2015). <a href="https://scroll.in/article/699841/being-mortal-what-matters-is-not-how-we-live-but-how-we-die">Being Mortal: What matters is not how we live but how we die</a></li>
<li>Thomas Jefferson University. <a href="https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/colleges-schools-institutes/skmc/research/research-medical-education/jefferson-scale-of-empathy.html">Jefferson Scale of Empathy</a></li>
</ul>
About our guests:
Dr Mohan Tiru
Senior Consultant Emergency Physician at Woodlands Health Campus and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital
Dr Mohan Tiru specialises in emergency medicine, serving as senior consultant at Woodlands Health Campus and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. He is also the chairman of the Ministry of Health&rsquo;s Residency Advisory Committee (Emergency Medicine) and is deputy chairman of the Medical Board (Surgical and Ambulatory Divisions) at Woodlands Integrated Health Complex. Lastly, Dr Mohan is an associate professor at the National University of Singapore School of Medicine and is the Singapore representative to the board of the Asian Society of Emergency Medicine.
Dr Maleena Suppiah Cavert 
Deputy Director of Clinical Education at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, NUHS 
Dr Maleena helms undergraduate and postgraduate (residency) clinical education and continuing medical education at NUHS. Since 2018, she has been heading staff wellbeing and mental health initiatives at NUHS, collaborating with counterparts in the healthcare sector and the Ministry of Health. Where humanity and compassion are lacking in healthcare, she tries to restore these fundamental practices through training. She is also a certified mindfulness facilitator and works closely with staff and students to enhance resilience and combat burnout. Maleena is also a board director at ALife, a non-profit organisation that assists unsupported mothers and their children. Maleena graduated from King&rsquo;s College, London and went on to pursue an MBA at ESSEC Business School in Paris. Her doctoral thesis was on empathy and healthcare. She has worked in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, and Singapore, thus having the opportunity to experience and enact cross-cultural empathy.
Find out more about the&nbsp;<a href="https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips">Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)</a>, a research centre of the&nbsp;<a href="https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/">Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy</a>.&nbsp;
Follow IPS on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-of-policy-studies-lee-kuan-yew-school-of-public-policy/%22%20/%22%20/">Linkedin</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=136982159795537&amp;ref=br_rs">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ips_sg/">Instagram</a>&nbsp;to keep updated on upcoming events and discussions.&nbsp;
On Diversity is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS&rsquo; Managing Diversities research&nbsp;programme. In each episode, IPS Deputy Director Ong Soh Chin chats with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making, and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.&nbsp;
More from On Diversity:&nbsp;
Episode 1: The Cancelled and the Woke, with career journalist Lydia Lim and poet and writer, Theophilus Kwek
Episode 2: Reclaiming Dementia, with Dr Chen&nbsp;Shiling, dementia physician, and Johnson Soh, founder of&nbsp;SanCare&nbsp;Asia
Episode 3: What is Multiculturalism?, with&nbsp;Low Sze Wee, CEO of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and singer-songwriter Jamiel Said&nbsp;
Episode 4: Diversity and the Singapore Media, with Mark Tan, founder and CEO of Rice Media, and Dr Chew Han Ei, Senior Research Fellow at IPS Social Lab
Episode 5: Sex and People with Disabilities, with Dr Lohsnah Jeevanandam, Director of the Clinical Psychology Programme at the National University Singapore, and Dr Justin Lee, Senior Research Fellow at the IPS Society and Culture Department.
Episode 6: Arts vs Culture, with Shaza Ishak, Managing Director of Teater Ekamatra, and Clarissa Oon, Head of Communications and Content at Esplanade &ndash; Theatres on the Bay.

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme.

In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.

On Diversity features new episodes every week.

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme.
In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.
On Diversity features new episodes every week.

IPS On Diversity Podcast

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society. On Diversity features new episodes every week.

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society. On Diversity features new episodes every week.

Advertisement