For a new medical resident, or even an experienced doctor, the emotional toll of the job can be overwhelming. Dominic Vachon ’80, ’85 M.Div., a practicing psychologist, experienced it firsthand—he found himself burnt out, stretched thin, and emotionally detached from his patients, so eight years ago he came to Notre Dame determined to understand the scientific implications of compassion from a biological, neuroscientific, and psychological perspective. Now, Vachon is Notre Dame’s John G. Sheedy, M.D., Director of the Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care in Medicine and is training the next generation of doctors to root their practice in compassion.
“Compassion is essential for patient care and it's essential for the well-being of the clinician. The two go hand in hand,” Vachon explains. He underscores that compassion isn’t sentimentality, but is instead an applied use of skills, knowledge, and communication to foster successful doctor-patient relationships.
Sam Grewe ’21 has seen the impact of compassion from the other side of medicine. When he was 13 years old, Grewe developed osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, and was eventually required to amputate one of his legs. As a teenager undergoing treatments, surgeries, and therapies, he said his doctors, especially the ones who took the time to explain, who provided comfort, and who gave him a sense of agency, motivated him to work hard and do well. Now, he’s a Paralympic high jumper and is planning to attend medical school next fall.More: https://go.nd.edu/CompassionInMedicine
More from What Would You Fight For?
- 2:01Fighting to Prevent HomelessnessAcross America, service providers are doing great work to tackle the complexities of poverty, but there is little data to prove what’s working and why. Notre Dame's Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) helps service providers apply scientific evaluation methods to better understand and unleash effective poverty interventions.In 2012 Catholic Charities of Chicago approached LEO to assess its programming to determine if it was effectively keeping people off the streets. The problem, the charity explained, is that the success of call centers is often measured by the number of calls, rather than the number of people successfully kept in their homes. Could LEO researchers measure the call center’s effectiveness rather than volume?In 2016, Professor Bill Evans and his team found that people who received emergency funds from Catholic Charities were 76 percent less likely to become homeless, and to date, more than 700 families have been kept in their homes because of the program. This affirmative assessment proved the emergency grants were not just a temporary solution and were a cost-effective use of funds. Now other cities across the country are using Notre Dame’s work to inform their own strategies on homelessness prevention.Learn more: https://go.nd.edu/WWYFFHomelessness
- 2:01Fighting to Repair the BodyWhen a brachial plexus injury occurs, it tears the connection between the central and peripheral nervous systems. This can happen during childbirth or during car or motorcycle accidents. Unfortunately, after such an injury, the recovery rate is very low.Biology Professor Cody Smith's lab researches the development and repair of the nervous system. His lab is full of students working on issues that could impact a range of diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and POTS. As an undergraduate, Evan Nichols ’19, whose brother was born with a brachial plexus injury, asked to test a theory about this type of injury and made a radical discovery - a common chemotherapy agent might be able to help regenerate the connection if administered shortly after injury.Learn more: https://go.nd.edu/RepairTheBody
- 2:01Fighting For Resilient CommunitiesIn 2018, in the midst of a heatwave in Mati, Greece, wildfires broke out and quickly engulfed the seaside town. Tragically, more than 100 people died, thousands of properties and homes turned to ash, and the once idyllic tourist destination sat in ruin.In the wake of the disaster, Notre Dame architecture professor Michael Lykoudis received a call asking if he would assess the town and help design a plan for rebuilding. Moved by the devastation and motivated by his Greek heritage, he sprang to action. In the fall of 2019, Lykoudis and a group of fifth-year students traveled to Mati to meet with local residents and help determine the architectural needs of the town.Learn more: https://go.nd.edu/FFResilientCommunities
- 2:01Fighting For Compassion in MedicineFor a new medical resident, or even an experienced doctor, the emotional toll of the job can be overwhelming. Dominic Vachon ’80, ’85 M.Div., a practicing psychologist, experienced it firsthand—he found himself burnt out, stretched thin, and emotionally detached from his patients, so eight years ago he came to Notre Dame determined to understand the scientific implications of compassion from a biological, neuroscientific, and psychological perspective. Now, Vachon is Notre Dame’s John G. Sheedy, M.D., Director of the Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care in Medicine and is training the next generation of doctors to root their practice in compassion. “Compassion is essential for patient care and it's essential for the well-being of the clinician. The two go hand in hand,” Vachon explains. He underscores that compassion isn’t sentimentality, but is instead an applied use of skills, knowledge, and communication to foster successful doctor-patient relationships. Sam Grewe ’21 has seen the impact of compassion from the other side of medicine. When he was 13 years old, Grewe developed osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, and was eventually required to amputate one of his legs. As a teenager undergoing treatments, surgeries, and therapies, he said his doctors, especially the ones who took the time to explain, who provided comfort, and who gave him a sense of agency, motivated him to work hard and do well. Now, he’s a Paralympic high jumper and is planning to attend medical school next fall.More: https://go.nd.edu/CompassionInMedicine
- 2:01Fighting to Build on TraditionWhen Dot Teso, the president of St. Michael Indian School on the Navajo Nation, wanted to expand her campus, she turned to Notre Dame’s School of Architecture. After years of partnering with Notre Dame’s ACE program and American Indian Catholic Schools Network, she had witnessed Notre Dame’s commitment to Catholic education, and she was confident the architecture faculty and students would bring the same commitment to design.She, along with Deswood Etsitty ’93, invited a group of undergraduates to the campus in Arizona to learn about Navajo culture, to meet the community members, and to start designing the campus’ first new building, a gym where the community can congregate.The students are trained in Classicism and were eager to incorporate Navajo art, culture and values into their designs. Several of those designs will serve as the basis of the school’s upcoming construction.Read more: https://go.nd.edu/BuildOnTradition
- 2:01Fighting to Go Faster and Farther than Ever Thought PossibleIn 1882, Notre Dame student Albert Zahm built a rudimentary wind tunnel to study wing and propeller shapes. He went on to launch glider experiments from the roof of LaFortune and to write influential aeronautics papers in the early days of human flight.In 2018, Notre Dame continued its commitment to aeronautics by building the country’s largest quiet Mach 6 wind tunnel. The tunnel, designed by engineering professor Thomas Juliano, will allow researchers to perform experiments on temperature distribution, aerodynamic designs and propulsion systems for hypersonic aircraft. Information gathered could influence everything from faster airplanes to outer space reconnaissance.Read more: https://go.nd.edu/FasterandFarther
