Leslie Jamison's The Empathy Exams

Empathy has been the subject of scrutiny for many philosophers and writers throughout the years. Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of these speculators and ended up writing an entire story to portray her understanding of what empathy is. She writes in Uncle Tom’s Cabin that if we were all to simply do what makes us feel right and feel strong about it, then we will naturally become more empathetic and thereby a benefactor of the human race. This notion, however, has been contested by many and Leslie Jamison is no exception. In The Empathy Exams, Jamison argues that to be empathetic requires more than a general feeling of rightness; it requires wisdom and energy. In her time as a medical actor, Jamison has observed and helped to train some of the

Jamison describes another medical figure in her life that she referred to as Dr. M. Dr. M was Jamison’s primary cardiologist, a figure who is involved in some of the most intimate details of Jamison’s life. However, Jamison describes Dr. M by saying she, “…wasn’t personal at all” (14). Dr. M would actually record personal information about Jamison on a tape recorder, however, Jamison would hear Dr. M referring to her as “patient” instead of by her name. This example demonstrates that Dr. M was indeed putting in the minimal effort needed to keep her clients, however, no additional effort was put into the process of learning about her patients. Jamison says that, “…the methods of her mechanics [were] palpable between us…” (18). Dr. M would not even put any effort into disguising her lack of interest of getting to know Jamison. This atmosphere of apathy that is exuded by Dr. M naturally causes Jamison to retract from Dr. M, which creates an environment that is not good for cultivating

M was utilized to portray a lack of effort, Jamison’s boyfriend was included to demonstrate the worth of a continuous input of energy. Jamison remembers that, “He believes in staying strong enough to stick around” (20-21). Jamison’s boyfriend mainly comes into the story when Jamison herself is in the hospital during one of her surgeries. She was going to be spending a large portion of time in the hospital to recover and he was always looking for ways to help her. An example of this is was during one night when, “…he was willing to lie down in the mess of wires, to stay…” (Jamison 21) with Jamison throughout the night. In fact, he stayed with her for five nights to help her through the struggle. His effort even carried outside of the hospital when he spent time in the church praying for her. The effort that he put into helping Jamison furthered his relationship with her and demonstrated that he genuinely cares for her. In other words, the effort he invests into their relationship reveals his empathetic