One of the most disconcerting experiences a physician can have is realizing that he or she is strongly attracted to a patient. Many physicians believe they should be above such emotions or that their professional objectivity should neutralize these feelings.

Do doctors bond with patients?

What they found was perhaps self-evident: exemplary doctors create nonjudgmental emotional bonds with their patients, they use their clinical power in ways that most benefit those patients, and they show a commitment to their patients over the long haul.