Chief Medical Correspondent for CBS Evening News & Professor of Medicine at NYU
Dr. Jon LaPook is Professor of Medicine at the NYU School of Medicine, and the Mebane Professor of Gastroenterology at NYU Langone Health. He is a practicing physician, and the founder and executive director of the “NYU Langone Empathy Project,” which seeks to promote a culture of empathy in medicine. Dr. LaPook is the chief medical correspondent at CBS News, which he joined in 2006.
Medical Correspondent
He has contributed more than 1,000 reports to the “CBS Evening News,” “60 Minutes,” “CBS This Morning,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Face the Nation,” “CBSN,” and “CBS Radio.” He reported from Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, Brazil during the Zika outbreak, Puerto Rico after the hurricane, the White House, Congress, and throughout the United States. Dr. LaPook has done extensive work in the field of medical computing, including helping to develop an electronic textbook of medicine and writing a medical practice management software package. He is a published author, and is especially focused on educating the public about health issues.
The Empathy Project
In 2014, Dr. LaPook founded “The Empathy Project” at NYU Langone Health. Its premise is that a good interpersonal relationship between patient and caregiver is critical to excellent medical care. Among his numerous awards are two Emmys for his reporting on the national shortage of drugs in 2012, and for team coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013. In 2018, The Alliance for Women in Media awarded him a Gracie Award in the News Feature Series category for two groundbreaking 60 Minutes reports—“USA Gymnastics” and “Aly Raisman”—which investigated a sexual abuse scandal involving American elite gymnasts.
Education
He graduated with honors from Yale University and Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, receiving his MD in 1980. He completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in gastroenterology at Presbyterian Hospital, New York City.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE WAITING ROOM
Everyone has implicit bias, and it can sabotage communication between caregivers and patients. By embracing empathy as a clinical skill, clinicians can learn to recognize and address implicit bias, leading to improved trust and a more effective relationship.
LISTENING
Attentive listening (not just hearing!) is key to making an accurate diagnosis.
LET’S TRY THAT AGAIN
These are humorous conversation starters help promote discussion on how healthcare providers communicate with patients.
