Impact of a longitudinal course on medical professionalism on the empathy of medical students

Objective: Medical education should enhance empathy. We examined, using self-assessment instruments and standardized patients (SPs), the impact on empathy, of a multi-year intervention (years 4–6 of medical training) that uses reflective learning approaches. Methods: 241 final-year medical students...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: García-del-Barrio, L. (Loreto)|||/items/08ad0d22-4e02-4203-8b7a-5cc6740f59da, Rodriguez-Diez, M.C. (María Cristina)|||/items/1f3de568-d67e-403d-87af-44f2b33e45f6, Gea, A. (Alfredo)|||/items/0fc6850b-e4e0-4795-960d-db184cd1385f, Pereira, J.L. (Jose Luis)|||/items/7f0dbbef-3452-4d90-996e-4f82029ece2e, Diez-Goñi, N. (Nieves)|||/items/0eb87553-a671-44be-9219-691c4f11376b, Arbea-Moreno, L. (Leire)|||/items/076efa2b-de27-4a0c-a3e6-2e321ca22833
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Navarra
Repositorio:Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:dadun.unav.edu:10171/70121
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10171/70121
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Empathy
Medical education
Undergraduate
Descripción
Sumario:Objective: Medical education should enhance empathy. We examined, using self-assessment instruments and standardized patients (SPs), the impact on empathy, of a multi-year intervention (years 4–6 of medical training) that uses reflective learning approaches. Methods: 241 final-year medical students participated; 110 from the 2018 graduation class (non-intervention group) and 131 from the 2019 graduation class (intervention group). Participants completed two self-reported empathy questionnaires – the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Students (JSE-S) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) – and a personality questionnaire, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Additionally, SPs in a simulated station assessed participants’ empathy with two patient-reported instruments: the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) scale and the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE). Results: Empathy scores were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the non-intervention group when assessed by the SP (p < 0.001). No differences were found in self-reported questionnaires between the two groups. Conclusion: A longitudinal, multi-year reflection-based intervention enhanced empathy amongst medical students as assessed by SPs, but not when assessed by student self-reported measures. Practice Implications: Multi-year reflective learning interventions during clinical training nurture empathy in medical students. Assessments completed by SPs or patients may enhance the evaluation of empathy.