Beth Lown is the chief medical officer of the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare. She is also an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Lown has been interested in empathy, compassion, collaboration and relational and communication skills since beginning medical school four decades ago. This interest has deepened over her many years of clinical practice and as a health professional educator and researcher. She has been an active participant in many national organizations dedicated to improving these attributes and skills.