False hope can lead to intemperate choices and flawed decision making. True hope takes into account the real threats that exist and seeks to navigate the best path around them.
Jerome GroopmanHope differs from optimism. Hope does not arise from being told to "think positively," or from hearing an overly rosy forecast. Hope, unlike optimism, is rooted in unalloyed reality.
Jerome GroopmanTrue hope is cleareyed. It sees all the difficulties that exist and all the potential for failure, but through that carves a realistic path to a better future.
Jerome GroopmanOn average, physicians interrupt patients within eighteen seconds of when they begin telling their story.
Jerome GroopmanI had learned that every patient has the right to hope, despite long odds, and it was my role to help nurture that hope.
Jerome GroopmanThe freedom of patient speech is necessary if the doctor is to get clues about the medical enigma before him. If the patient is inhibited, or cut off prematurely, or constrained into one path of discussion, then the doctor may not be told something vital. Observers have noted that, on average, physicians interrupt patients within eighteen seconds of when they begin telling their story.
Jerome Groopman