TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Art Imitates Life* A1 - Tanco, Kimberson C. A1 - Epner, Daniel E. A2 - Epner, Daniel E. Y1 - 2022 N1 - T2 - Empathy: Real Stories to Inspire and Enlighten Busy Clinicians AB - I WAS ON the ESPN website the other day when I saw a video of JJ Watt announcing his plans to seek employment with a new team after playing with the Houston Texans for 10 years. For the few people who have not heard of JJ Watt, he is a perennial NFL all-pro and 3-time NFL defensive player of the year. “I sat down with [the ownership group], and we have mutually agreed to part ways.” He then started to say how well everyone has treated him in Houston: “The way you guys have treated me….” He then paused for a moment to carefully consider his next words: “…besides draft night. You booed me on draft night, but every day after that you treated me like family.” As I watched JJ deliver an inconvenient truth about the cruel reception he received on draft night, it occurred to me that we clinicians can learn a lot from his words. The truth is not always pretty, but we are obligated to tell it. JJ then continued by saying how grateful he was to be loved and supported by the organization, fans, teammates, friends, and community, and concluded with,“Thank you Houston, I love you.” With just a few words, JJ showed how truth sometimes should be tempered with love and compassion. Oscar Wilde said, “Life imitates Art.” However, for empathic clinicians, the art of medicine sometimes imitates the lives of world-class athletes. SN - PB - McGraw Hill LLC CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/29 UR - hemonc.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1190086010 ER -