Under the recommendation of Mr. Thupten Tsering, Director of Men-Tsee-Khang, and Dr. Tsetan la, CMO of Delek Hospital and Personal Physician to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Men-Tsee-Khang Sowa Rigpa Medical College and Hospital organized a resource talk on Empathy and Compassion: Sustaining the Ability to Care from 2:00 to 3:30 pm on 12th June 2023, Monday. The invited speaker was Dr. William C. Mobley, MD, Ph.D., and Distinguished Professor of Neurology at UC San Diego School of Medicine, California, USA. His engaging talk was attended by around 50 people including all the Men-Tsee-Khang Sowa-Rigpa Medical College students, faculty members, interested staff, and other invited guests from Delek Hospital.
Dr. Mobley interestingly spoke about the two different cultures of Buddhist Philosophy pioneered by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and modern Neuroscience coming together to pursue the common goal of knowledge by idealizing and implementing research on Empathy & Compassion, a much-needed quality for sound brain function and wellbeing. He deliberated further on Social neuroscience and the definition of Empathy, Mentalizing, and Compassion along with the Neurobiology of Empathy and Compassion. Apart from that, he emphasizes the importance of enhancing the practice of empathy and compassion by training as well as ways to confront burnout in medical practices and its relation to more effective and improved patient care. He also highlighted the compassion-based study report which has shown a positive impact on diabetes control, pain control after rehabilitation, physical therapy outcome, patient compliance, and overall quality of life. Towards the end, Dr. Mobley also entertained questions put forward by a few participants and the session successfully concluded with his favorite quote: If you want Peace, Seek Justice; If you want Justice, Seek Compassion; If you want Compassion, Seek Empathy.
