Educating for empathy. A review.
DOI or Website Link: Full text
Publication: J Gen Intern Med. 2006 May;21(5):524-30.
Authors:
Date: 2006 May;21
Affiliation(s):
Citation:
Comments:
(Stepien + 2006)* Meta Study (13 Evaluated) (healthcare)
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE:
Empathy in the medical setting is appreciation of the patient's emotions and expression of that awareness to the patient. Named as an essential learning objective by the American Association of Medical Colleges, empathy is believed to significantly influence patient satisfaction, adherence to medical recommendations, clinical outcomes, and professional satisfaction. The objective of this study was to identify effective strategies to enhance empathy in undergraduate medical students.
DATA SOURCES:
We searched PubMed for studies that address the effectiveness of strategies for teaching empathy to medical students. We identified 13 peer-reviewed, English language, qualitative and quantitative studies reporting primary data on interventions that aim to foster empathy in undergraduate medical students, using Medical Subject Heading terms education, medical, undergraduate or student, medical crossed with empathy.
RESULTS:
These studies indicate that empathy may be amenable to positive change with a range of interventional strategies. Communication skill workshops addressing the behavioral dimension of empathy show greatest quantitative impact on participants.
However, current studies are challenged by
varying definitions of empathy,
small sample sizes,
lack of adequate control groups,
and variation among existing empathy measurement instruments.
CONCLUSION:
Given the methodological limitations of the available studies, and uncertainty about which dimensions of empathy should be addressed, larger studies using validated measurement tools are recommended.
Quotes: (Any pithy quotes)
Topic Area: (In which field / sector / perspective was this study conducted?)
Definition: (How was empathy defined?)
Benefits: (Were any benefits of empathy mentioned?)
Criticisms (Were any criticisms, negative effects or risks of empathy mentioned?)
Methods: (What were the methods used to train empathy?)
Target Group: (Who participated in this study / training?)
Measurements: (About the assessment: How was the change in empathy measured before/after the intervention/method?)
Result: (What was the result?)
Posted By:
Notes: (Any other relevant information)
References:
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