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The Article in Brief
On Blindness and Blind Spots
Ruth Kannai , and colleagues
Background n/a
What This Study Found According to family physician Ruth Kannai, "Sometimes the only way into a patient's world is through the window they offer. It is important to follow that lead." In an essay in the Annals of Family Medicine, Dr. Kannai reflects on her efforts to treat a long-time patient who developed a severe conversion disorder (a neurologic symptom that cannot be explained by medical evaluation) causing the patient occasional blindness. Through her ongoing efforts, which sometimes failed, and the patient's own realization that she needed to attend to the connection between her body and her "inner self," the episodes of blindness significantly decreased. Reflecting on blindness as a metaphor, the author acknowledges her own blind spots in trying to understand and help the patient. Yet, "despite that blindness, which may be my own, my role as her physician is to care for her completely, to enable her to trust me, by trusting her, and trusting in the process of our relationship."
