The essential role of compassion in contemporary medical practice
- Cost: R590 for the full Ethics Series
- CPD Points: 3 Ethics CEUs
- Retries: 3 attempts
- CPD accredited in South Africa
- Free certification
- Access on desktop, tablet and mobile
- Access from anywhere
- No time limits, work at your own pace
This article examines the indispensable role of compassion in modern medicine. It argues that clinical excellence must also encompass empathy and ethical care for healthcare systems to thrive. The article outlines compassion’s many benefits, including more satisfied patients, better population health, and lower costs. It highlights the positive impact of compassion on provider wellbeing. The article also discusses key challenges, including time pressure, technological constraints, and institutional barriers. It presents strategies to foster compassion through training, culture, and patient-centred care. Ultimately, compassion is both an ethical imperative and a practical solution for sustaining effective healthcare in today’s complex world.
  Learning Objectives
You will learn to:
- Describe the dual nature of medicine as both a science and an art, and explain how compassion integrates clinical proficiency with empathy and ethical responsibility; ensuring the inclusion of the four pillars of ethical practice, namely beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice
- Analyse the multifaceted benefits of compassion in healthcare, including its impact on patient satisfaction, population health outcomes, healthcare costs, and provider well-being.
- Identify and discuss the significant challenges to delivering compassionate care in contemporary medical practice, including time constraints, technological mediation, and institutional barriers
- Evaluate strategies for fostering compassion in healthcare settings, with emphasis on self-compassion, empathy education, and organisational interventions
- Appraise the ethical and pragmatic importance of compassion as a foundation for sustaining effective, equitable, and resilient healthcare systems.
  Meet our expert
Dr Julia Ambler
MBChB, Dip Pall Med, DCH
Clinical Director, Umduduzi – Hospice Care for Children
Lecturer, Department of Paediatrics and Department of Family Medicine
Nelson Mandela Medical School, UKZN
Dr Julia Ambler has been working in paediatric palliative care for the last 20 years, first in Oxford, UK, where she completed her diploma and in Durban since 2009.
She co-founded Umduduzi – Hospice Care for Children in 2013. Upon returning to KZN she began working at the Bigshoes Foundation’s Durban office where she assisted in starting the palliative care work.
She is currently the only doctor that is paid by the government for providing paediatric palliative care in South Africa, working 10 hours a week at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. She is a sessional lecturer in the Departments of Paediatrics and Family Medicine, Nelson Mandela Medical School, University of KwaZulu-Natal and is the chairperson of The Association of Palliative Care Practitioners of South Africa (PALPRAC). As a communication skills expert, she is also a workshop facilitator for the Medical Protection Society.
Julia lives in Morningside with her partner, Tracey and two sons, Luke and Jack.
