Efpraxia Avlogiari
Stella Maria Karagiannaki
Eleftherios Panteris
Anastasia Konsta
Ioannis Diakogiannis
ABSTRACT
Background: EMPATHY IN HEALTHCARE is an intensive 20-hour experiential training program based on mediation techniques and specialized healthcare role-play for clinicians and medical students. It is hypothesized that the training will improve empathy via the intensive experiential techniques implemented.
Methods: A total of 50 medical students (25 males/25 females) took the course voluntarily. Empathy was measured using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Medical Students Version (JSE-S) (Greek version), before and after the 20-hour training, along with a 6-month follow-up. Gender, age, preferred medical specialty and baseline empathy score were explored as possible moderator variables of the training effect.
Conclusion: Intensive experiential training can improve empathy in a clinical setting. EMPATHY IN HEALTHCARE is a successful training program in improving empathy in medical students, as measured by the JSE-S. A score of 110 and below could be used for selecting medical student candidates who will benefit most from empathy training.
Benefits
It is claimed to be necessary for
connecting with the patient,
improving the outcome,4 and
to reach a more precise diagnosis.5
Its benefits do not stop there, as
it also seems to help alleviate burnout symptoms in the physicians themselves,6 and
reduce malpractice