Collaborative engagement with colleagues may provide better care for ‘heart-sink’ patients

Аннотация

Balint groups and similar reflective groups can open doctors’ minds to the complexity of the patientdoctor relationship and help them to accept and deal with uncertainty in clinical practice. It makes the doctors more resilient and diminishes the risk of burnout.WHAT THIS WORK ADDS • Learning in a long-lasting reflective group boosts doctors’ ability to deal with, and even embrace, the uncertainties of general practice and, in particular, their care of ‘heart-sink’ patients.• Sustainability of a reflective group can be achieved through specific features of the group’s structure and ways of working. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH • Further studies to explore whether collaborative engagement with peers i) improves one’s ability to deal with uncertainty in clinical practice and ii) leads to enhanced patient care.