The Doctor–Patient Relationship > The Art Is Long > Listening with Our Eyes > An Intangible Art > Sleight of Hand > Tell Me the Worst, Doctor > Initiation Rites > Good Bedside Manners

The Doctor–Patient Relationship
The Art Is Long
Physicians reflect on defining moments in their relationships with patients.

Listening with Our Eyes
Technologically correct medicine cannot trump the primacy of the bond between physicians and patients.
by Charles J. Hatem

An Intangible Art
A physician reflects on the centrality of touch in making patients better—and in making better doctors.
by Michael A. LaCombe

Sleight of Hand
An internist scrutinizes her patients’ hands to uncover clues to their physical and emotional well-being.
by Susanna Bedell

Tell Me the Worst, Doctor
Harvard-trained physicians recall some of their trickiest clinical encounters.

Initiation Rites
A physician and the Navajo community she serves struggle to make sense of each other’s blessings and imperfections.
by Ellen L. Rothman

Good Bedside Manners
Expressing empathy is not just good manners—it’s also good medicine.
by Alice Flaherty

photo: Altrendo/Getty Images