Remembering Dr. Robert Buckman


For those who trained in Canada (especially Toronto), the name of Dr. Robert Buckman always brought a chuckle.

He filled his lectures with his signature British wit and humour. Yet, the message was always loud and clear. Being an oncologist, he had great insight in communication with patients.

He was the first to teach us medical students about communication and professionalism: Kindness, empathy, delivering bad news, what to say when you don't know what to say. A decade later, out of the countless hours of lectures, his stood out.

Truly a big loss to the medical educators community.

Dr. Buckman's website

References
Buckman R. Communications and emotions. BMJ. 2002 Sep 28;325(7366):672. BMJ website

Buckman R. Words that make a difference: enhancing the "how" in "how we say it". Support Cancer Ther. 2006 Jan 1;3(2):127. Free PDF

Buckman R, Tulsky JA, Rodin G. Empathic responses in clinical practice: intuition or tuition? CMAJ. 2011 Mar 22;183(5):569-71. Pubmed