Empathy and HealthCare

Abstract
The “hidden curriculum” in medical school includes a stressful work environment, un-empathic role models, and prioritisation of biomedical knowledge. It can provoke anxiety and cause medical students to adapt by becoming cynical, distanced and less empathic. Lower empathy, in turn, has been shown to harm patients as well as practitioners.

Fortunately, evidence-based interventions can counteract the empathy dampening effects of the hidden curriculum. These include early exposure to real patients, providing students with real-world experiences, training role models, assessing empathy training, increasing the focus on the biopsychosocial model of disease, and enhanced wellbeing education.

Here, we provide an overview of these interventions. Taken together, they can bring about an “empathic hidden curriculum” which can reverse the decline in medical student empathy.

by Jeremy Howick PhD, Daniel Slavin MBChB, Sue Carr MD, Fiona Miall BM, BS, Chandra Ohri MD, Steve Ennion PhD, Simon Gay MB, BS, PhD

Ethan Sulliva

In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, where technology and artificial intelligence are making significant strides in improving patient care and reducing administrative tasks, the importance of human connection and empathy in the healing process cannot be overstated. A heartwarming story that beautifully encapsulates this sentiment is the journey of mutual healing and support between a patient and a doctor.

The Essential Role of Human Connection and Empathy in Healing

These heartwarming stories underscore the crucial role of human connection and empathy in healthcare. They serve as a reminder that while advancements in technology and medicine are crucial, the human element remains irreplaceable. The healing journey is often a shared one, and it is through empathy, connection, and mutual support that both patients and doctors can find solace, strength, and ultimately, healing.

Health care practitioner empathy interventions seem to improve patient satisfaction, but inadequate reporting hinders the ability to draw definitive conclusions relating to the overall effect size, according to a review published online Jan. 30 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Leila Keshtkar, Ph.D., from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of randomized trials to examine the effect of health care practitioner empathy on patient satisfaction. The analysis included 14 randomized trials with 80 practitioners and 1,986 patients.

By Anthony Raphael

Empathy in Healthcare: More than a Soft Skill
Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, is a vital skill in healthcare. It extends beyond simple compassion, allowing healthcare professionals to understand patients’ experiences from their perspective. It forms the foundation of a patient-centered approach, promoting better communication, fostering trust, and ultimately improving patient outcomes. Despite its significance, empathy is often overlooked in medical education, overshadowed by the technical and scientific aspects of healthcare.

Health care practitioner empathy interventions seem to improve patient satisfaction, but inadequate reporting hinders the ability to draw definitive conclusions relating to the overall effect size, according to a review published online Jan. 30 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Leila Keshtkar, Ph.D., from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of randomized trials to examine the effect of health care practitioner empathy on patient satisfaction. The analysis included 14 randomized trials with 80 practitioners and 1,986 patients.

Brain health refers to the state of a person’s brain function across various domains, including cognitive, behavioral and motor functions. Healthy brains are associated with better individual health, increased creativity, and enhanced productivity. A person’s brain health is intricately connected to personal, social and environmental factors. Racial, ethnic, and social disparities affect brain health and on the global scale these disparities within and between regions present a hurdle to brain health.

To overcome global disparities, greater collaboration between practitioners and healthcare providers and the people they serve is essential. This requires cultural humility driven by empathy. Empathy is a core prosocial value, a cognitive-emotional skill that helps us understand ourselves and others.

The mission of the Center for Empathy in Medicine at the Institute for Innovations in Medical Education is to develop and implement innovative curriculum for enhancing and supporting empathy throughout our healthcare system and especially in undergraduate and graduate medical education.

The center’s goals are to develop a workforce of expert educators who can teach and assess empathy, establish a robust research program to evaluate the impact of these efforts, and define best practices in empathy education within an academic health center. The center works in close partnership with the Empathy Project. 

The Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA is pleased to present Semel Grand Rounds, our weekly educational conference featuring presentations on evidence-based clinical practices, cutting-edge insights from neuroscience, and the role of society in shaping mental health.

Building the Empathy Movement

http://TheEmpathyCenter.org
http://EmpathySummit.com
http://CultureOfEmpathy.com

http://EmpathyCircle.com

http://EmpathyTent.com

http://BestEmpathyTraining.com

by Ingrid Nembhard

Patients who are treated with empathy by their doctors and other clinicians have better health care outcomes, according to a new study from Wharton health care management professors Ingrid Nembhard and Guy David. The paper is titled “A Systematic Review of Empathy in Health Care,” and it appears in the journal Health Services Research. The co-authors are Wharton undergraduate student Iman Ezzeddine, and David Betts and Jennifer Radin, both of Deloitte Consulting.

Nembhard spoke to Knowledge at Wharton about the study, which concludes with a call for more organizational-level interventions to ensure empathy for all patients, systematically.

#EmpathyCircles: A highly effective #Empathy building practice. http://EmpathyCircle.com    
#EmpathyTraining: http://BestEmpathyTraining.com

Abstract
The “hidden curriculum” in medical school includes a stressful work environment, un-empathic role models, and prioritisation of biomedical knowledge. It can provoke anxiety and cause medical students to adapt by becoming cynical, distanced and less empathic. Lower empathy, in turn, has been shown to harm patients as well as practitioners.

Fortunately, evidence-based interventions can counteract the empathy dampening effects of the hidden curriculum. These include early exposure to real patients, providing students with real-world experiences, training role models, assessing empathy training, increasing the focus on the biopsychosocial model of disease, and enhanced wellbeing education.

Here, we provide an overview of these interventions. Taken together, they can bring about an “empathic hidden curriculum” which can reverse the decline in medical student empathy.

by Jeremy Howick PhD, Daniel Slavin MBChB, Sue Carr MD, Fiona Miall BM, BS, Chandra Ohri MD, Steve Ennion PhD, Simon Gay MB, BS, PhD

by American College of Physicians

A review of 14 studies has found that empathetic care is associated with improved patient satisfaction, a metric linked to important implications for patient outcomes. However, strong conclusions were limited by quality and applicability of evidence. The review is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Increased patient satisfaction is associated with improved survival after myocardial infarction; reduced hospital readmission; higher general quality of care; better patient safety; and other outcomes. It has also been reported to improve medication adherence. Hospital reimbursement is also often linked to patient satisfaction scores. Research on health care practitioner empathy—which is commonly taken to involve understanding, expressing understanding, and therapeutic action—may provide important insights for improving the metric of patient satisfaction.

Background: The aim of the study was to measure empathy in healthcare professionals in Singapore and to compare the scores between the different professions: doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals.

Methods: An online survey questionnaire was conducted using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) from July 2019 to January 2020. The total JSE score was calculated and compared among the different groups. Multiple linear regression was performed to assess predictors of total empathy scores for groups with statistically lower scores.

Conclusion: Nurses in Singapore had significantly lower empathy scores compared to doctors and allied health professionals. Further research on the underlying causes should be undertaken and measures to improve empathy among Singapore nursing staff should be explored and implemented.

Empathic care in medicine is associated with greater patient satisfaction, a new review has found.

“Patient satisfaction” is more than a fluffy metric that measures how satisfied “customers” are. Increased patient satisfaction is associated with, among other things, improved survival after heart attacks, a lower risk of being readmitted to hospital, higher general quality of care and better patient safety.

Empathic care is also associated with patients taking their drugs as prescribed, which itself improves patient outcomes.