While serving in the army decades ago, Dr. Larry Benz noticed the importance of bedside manner and other nonclinical factors in determining clinical success. Keeping that top of mind has served him well over his 30 years as a physical therapist. In fact, he argues that these so-called “soft skills” can be even more important in affecting outcomes than clinical skills. Benz is the author of the newly released book Called to Care, about putting the humanity back in healthcare. His curriculum by the same name has been adopted by many PT schools around the country and even some medical schools. In this interview with Shiv Gaglani, Benz talks about the need to be intentional about empathy and compassion -- to exercise the “caring muscle” as you would any other muscle. Tune in to learn about how Confluent Health measures compassion, the impact of COVID on the field of physical therapy, the difference between dehumanization and burnout, and why Benz considers patient loyalty to be the key data point in an organization's success.

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