Table 1.

Categories of Physician Self-disclosure

Type	Definition	Examples
Reassurance (short)	A short statement indicating that the physician has personally shared the same experience as the patient	I sometimes do that.
		Same thing with me.
		I take it, too.
		Sure I do. Everyone does.
		I know my wife had it about a year and a half ago.
Reassurance (long)	A statement providing information about the physician's personal experience	It probably was ’cause I've had it happen to me. That's part of scar reaction, and that can take up to 3 to 4 months to disappear. I found that in my knee when I had the same thing happen.
Counseling	A statement about the physician's personal experience that could guide patient action	I’ll write the prescription for twice a day, and then you can play with it. When I took this stuff, I was taking one three times a day ’cause I didn't like a lot of Sudafed before bedtime. It keeps me awake. Makes me restless. Three times a day didn't bother me.
		I've had mine. I think it's worth doing. (flu shot)
		I just got one. Yeah, and it works pretty well. I think it's a pretty good idea for a knee brace if you’re going to ski.
Rapport (humor)	A humorous personal story	Like my dad told me, when I was getting on him about smoking when he had the bypass, he said, “You know, I see a lot of old jazz musicians, but I don't see too many old doctors.”[laughs]
Rapport (empathy/legitimation)	An expression of empathy or legitimation of patient experience	They usually give you a little something to help relax you a little bit. ’Cause I know I'd be nervous.
Casual	A short statement that has little obvious connection to the patient's condition or state	(after compliment on sutures) You know, I was kind of sickly as a child. And my parents, my twin brother and I, they had us doing embroidery.
Intimacy (emotional/physical)	An intimate emotional or physical revelation	I cried a lot with my divorce, too. You know, when our bodies say we need to cry, maybe there's something that needs cleansing.
		Take a supplement. I, personally, use Metamucil. I started on it when I went to a seminar about soluble fiber and its effects on cholesterol. But its other effect in terms of stooling is just real pleasant, too.
Intimate (relationship)	Any indication of a desire for a personal relationship with a patient	I like to think that my patients are my friends. I like to think that if I happen to run into you here in town, I know who you are.
Extended narrative	A lengthy description of physician's personal experience that has seemingly little relevance for patient	Crunches. And what I do…I dedicated myself…if I'm going to watch a basketball game or football game, for one quarter I'm going to do a (unintelligible) workout. And sometimes when I've done a workout, it's on an isometric. Going on them. When I drive, and I get to a stoplight, each time I do it, I just reflexively put my hands under the wheel and push my knees up and do an isometric. Not very hard, a little bit. And that strengthens the gut. Push your legs up, push down with your hands. Tightens the gut. One of the exercises I’ll do during the game is this. People watching with me, I just might do this. And you can't even see I'm doing it. But I'm picking them up just enough to tighten the gut. And then I end up doing 1,000 of them. And it makes a difference. I’ll get down on the floor and I’ll do crunches. I’ll do maybe groups of 30, and then maybe try to do 200 by the time you do them. Every little thing you can do to exercise your belly on a routine basis I think makes it better. And, of course, weight loss may or may not make a difference, but it sure makes you feel better. It's worthwhile. (Pt: Wow)
		I just went through a low-fat diet for 6 months ’cause my cholesterol was high—and I lost 30 lbs. Then I got back on a low-fat…my parents had good numbers, and I thought, “nothing wrong with me.” But then I got tested—270. And I figured three donuts in the morning on the way to the hospital—they weren't a big problem. So I stopped doing that. Took all the fat out of my diet. Quit eating meat. And I went down to 186. So I haven't had it tested again. I’ll be disappointed, probably. But I eat very little fat. I've never watched what I eat. I eat a ton. Lots of salad, lots of fruit. I start the day with oat bran, which is supposed to be cholesterol-free. Fills me. I don't get that empty feeling when you grab donuts. Don't eat meat anymore.