TY - JOUR

T1 - Ignitions of empathy

T2 - Medical students feel touched and shaken by interacting with patients with chronic conditions in communication and skills training

AU - Rieffestahl, Anne Marie

AU - Risør, Torsten

AU - Mogensen, Hanne Overgaard

AU - Reventlow, Susanne

AU - Mørcke, Anne Mette

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - ObjectiveTo explore what and how medical students learn from patients with chronic conditions in the context of communication skills training.MethodsSemi-structured interviews and focus groups with 32 medical students. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, analyzed inductively and organized into four main narrative themes.ResultsLearning from patients provided medical students opportunities to see the world through the patients’ eyes, understand the diversity of patients’ needs, and recognize the importance of matching patients’ and doctors’ perspectives. Consequently, students expressed emotional responses on challenges in interactions with the patients related to performing the role as ‘medical expert’. Difficulty empathizing became visible in the students’ interaction with patients.ConclusionThe patients’ authentic contributions provided the students with unique opportunities to engage with their own emotions and capacity for empathy. However, for students to benefit from this affective practical training, they need guidance to balance professional and personal aspects in encounters. There is a need to introduce the ‘doctor as person’ in medical education.Practice implicationsPatients with chronic conditions strengthen students’ learning of empathy as part of transformative learning. Doing so with patients is a challenging way of learning. Thus, faculty and educators must provide explicit guidance for students to benefit.

AB - ObjectiveTo explore what and how medical students learn from patients with chronic conditions in the context of communication skills training.MethodsSemi-structured interviews and focus groups with 32 medical students. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, analyzed inductively and organized into four main narrative themes.ResultsLearning from patients provided medical students opportunities to see the world through the patients’ eyes, understand the diversity of patients’ needs, and recognize the importance of matching patients’ and doctors’ perspectives. Consequently, students expressed emotional responses on challenges in interactions with the patients related to performing the role as ‘medical expert’. Difficulty empathizing became visible in the students’ interaction with patients.ConclusionThe patients’ authentic contributions provided the students with unique opportunities to engage with their own emotions and capacity for empathy. However, for students to benefit from this affective practical training, they need guidance to balance professional and personal aspects in encounters. There is a need to introduce the ‘doctor as person’ in medical education.Practice implicationsPatients with chronic conditions strengthen students’ learning of empathy as part of transformative learning. Doing so with patients is a challenging way of learning. Thus, faculty and educators must provide explicit guidance for students to benefit.

U2 - 10.1016/j.pec.2020.12.015

DO - 10.1016/j.pec.2020.12.015

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33376009

VL - 104

SP - 1668

EP - 1673

JO - Patient Education and Counseling

JF - Patient Education and Counseling

SN - 0738-3991

IS - 7

ER -