Influences on students’ empathy in medical education: an exploratory interview study with medical students in their third and last year

Pohontsch, Nadine Janis; Stark, Anne; Ehrhardt, Maren; Kötter, Thomas; Scherer, Martin

doi:10.1186/s12909-018-1335-7

Cited by 95 publications

(101 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Insecurity or a lack of routine has previously been shown to decrease students´ empathy. 19 This factor can be counteracted by an increase in medical knowledge and clinical skills, whereas the other inhibitor, a stressful and empathy-hostile medical culture, is more difficult to change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a German study based on interviews with 24 medical students either during their sixth term or during their final clinical year, empathic behaviour appeared to be influenced not only by the surrounding medical culture but also by aspects of the courses and by individual students and patient characteristics. 19 However, the researchers did not investigate whether the empathy of the interviewed students changed during their medical education.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can empathy be preserved in medical education?

et al. 2020

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Objectives:The aim of this study was to investigate changes in empathy during medical education, as well as to identify promoters and inhibitors of empathy and analyse their roles. Methods: We used qualitative content analysis to examine 69 critically reflective essays written by medical students as a part of their final examination at the end of the medical program. The essays were based on previous self-evaluations performed each term and represented retrospective reflections on their professional development. Results: A majority of the students felt that their empathy did not decrease during medical education. On the contrary, many felt that their empathy had increased, especially the cognitive part of empathy, without loss of affective empathy.Many of them described a professionalisation process resulting in an ability to meet patients with preserved empathy but without being overwhelmed by emotions. They identified several factors that promoted the development of empathy: a multiplicity of patients, positive role models, and educational activities focusing on reflection and self-awareness. They also identified inhibitors of empathy: lack of professional competence and a stressful and empathy-hostile medical culture. Conclusions: Our analysis of these retrospective reflections by students suggests that empathy can be preserved during medical education, despite the presence of important inhibitors of empathy. This finding might be due to the presence of more potent promoters and/or to the fact that educational activities might result in a decreased susceptibility to empathy-decreasing circumstances.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can empathy be preserved in medical education?

et al. 2020

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“…According to scientific views from the Medicine field, empathy can be learned and Medical schools should educate their students in this respect [63,64]. Many studies have pointed out the necessity for future professionals to receive training in order to enhance their empathetic skills [64,65].…”

Section: Factors That Influence Empathymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Empathy in Health and Social Care Professionals

et al. 2020

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The current article is an integrative and analytical literature review on the concept and meaning of empathy in health and social care professionals. Empathy, i.e., the ability to understand the personal experience of the patient without bonding with them, constitutes an important communication skill for a health professional, one that includes three dimensions: the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. It has been proven that health professionals with high levels of empathy operate more efficiently as to the fulfillment of their role in eliciting therapeutic change. The empathetic professional comprehends the needs of the health care users, as the latter feel safe to express the thoughts and problems that concern them. Although the importance of empathy is undeniable, a significantly high percentage of health professionals seem to find it difficult to adopt a model of empathetic communication in their everyday practice. Some of the factors that negatively influence the development of empathy are the high number of patients that professionals have to manage, the lack of adequate time, the focus on therapy within the existing academic culture, but also the lack of education in empathy. Developing empathetic skills should not only be the underlying objective in the teaching process of health and social care undergraduate students, but also the subject of the lifelong and continuous education of professionals.

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“…17,30 The present study demonstrated that Croatian students ob- Numerous studies have reported an increase in empathy with training and progression in communication skills. [33][34][35][36][37][38] Previous research studies revealed that exercises in verbal and non-verbal communication as well as early encounters with patients significantly improved empathy level in medical professionals and students. A comparison of the curriculum between the two dental TA B L E 5 The difference in levels of total empathy and its components between Polish and Croatian students in relation to the year of training increase in empathy level.…”

Section: Ta B L Ementioning

confidence: 99%