Jason Littlefield, M.Ed., is an Educator by training and a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Specialist. In the first of a series of thought-provoking articles written for Physician Outlook Magazine, Littlefield discusses the importance of physicians (really ALL healthcare workers) understanding the role of social and emotional learning and the value of using SEL as a framework when interacting with one another, especially with our patients, for whom we have taken the “Primum Non-Nocere” oath of doing no harm.

WHAT IS “SEL”?

SEL is an acronym that is widely used in the world of Education, but not one familiar to most healthcare professionals.

In a nutshell, Social and Emotional Learning is a developmental process through which humans learn skills that support healthy development and relationships.  To be considered “Socially and Emotionally Competent” learners must be taught and master skills in the following areas:

• Self-awareness
• Self-management
• Social awareness
• Responsible decision-making
• Relationship-building

SEL skills include goal setting, stress management, team building, and perspective-taking.  He finds that the intense focus on diversity, equity, and Inclusion and the accompanying indoctrination is counterproductive and can potentially be harmful to humanity and to individuals’ well-being.

There is abundant research that indicates that social and emotional learning creates individuals who are more likely to achieve the goals that they set for themselves. Socially and emotionally competent learners also report higher levels of happiness, an objective sense of well-being, good overall physical health, as well as positive life outcomes. They are less likely to report career or personal life “burn-out.”  Perhaps most important in the field of Medicine is that when SEL is intentionally embedded as part of a curriculum or patient/peer education, it can also serve as a powerful tool for prevention and helps to foster resilience.

Littlefield worries that the current emphasis on ideology that blindly promotes DEI undermines the very tenets of social and emotional learning, and could actually make our world LESS diverse, equitable, inclusive, and fair by undermining the importance of our individual and collective humanity.

The Hippocratic Oath emphasizes providing the best possible care to patients without bias or discrimination. An ideology that prioritizes certain identity groups over others can have the unintended consequence of causing potential conflict with this commitment, as we may feel pressured to consider identity factors when making medical decisions.

Littlefield gained a unique perspective and insight into the patient-doctor relationship and the new “woke” healthcare system after he became the primary caregiver for his aging medically-frail father. He highlights the need to re-humanize medicine and presents Empowered Humanity Theory (EHT) as a potential framework for positive change. EHT is a set of attitudes and practices that DECREASES the human capacity for prejudice and INCREASES and STRENGTHENS the neural pathways that are linked to our psychological well-being.

Littlefield offers strategies for self-care, patient care, and a way to TRULY defend the Hippocratic Oath, while still acknowledging that we have a long way to go in a society that has historically been marginalizing and ostracizing to many of our fellow humans.

Doctors and other healthcare professionals face unique challenges in these times of cultural upheaval, and one of the most difficult to navigate is that it is not currently socially acceptable to voice opinions that differ from the prescribed teachings. Littlefield advocates for using social and emotional learning techniques to find balance and inner dignity.  Incorporating social and emotional learning techniques will allow us to confront changes (and our patients) courageously.

The results of using EHT can be contagious and as team leaders, we will immediately reap the benefits by modeling positive interactions for ALL members of our healthcare teams. By treating the patient in front of us as the human that they are (without having to worry about the color of their skin, the language they are speaking, the zip code that they come from, or the insurance (or lack thereof) that they carry, we give that patient much needed human dignity and respect.

Systemic disparities in healthcare DO exist. We need to strike a balance between fostering a diverse and inclusive healthcare environment while simultaneously upholding the Hippocratic Oath’s core principles.

Littlefield became worried and upset when he realized that a very divisive ideology was being inculcated not just in his own field of Education, but into the fabric of almost EVERY discipline, including Medicine. He feels that a culture that prioritizes “the group” above an individual and that person’s amazing individual humanity has the potential to promote prejudice, shame, and resentment in the long run. As a society, he feels, we must be wary of any politically-driven ideology that promotes “group-think” and reinforces dangerous stereotypes.

Littlefield is the Executive Director of EmpowerED Pathways, co-founder of Free Black Thought (whose slogan is “Black thought varies as widely as black individuals”), and also serves as a Board Member for the Institute of Liberal Values (a consortium of organizations that have joined together to advance liberalism, promoting the classical liberal values of reason and freedom for the common benefit of all humanity).

To learn more about Jason Littlefield and his nuanced recommendations for re-humanizing Medicine, please go online to www.PhysicianOutlook.com and read “I Am Not A Doctor…Nor Do I Play One on TV.”