Abstract
Background: Clinical empathy has been repeatedly shown to increase patient satisfaction and improve clinical outcomes; therefore it forms an important cornerstone of the physician-patient therapeutic relationship. While some studies have shown that empathy in medical students decreases over the course of their education, other studies have contested these findings.
 Purpose: This paper reviews studies and relevant literature in order to explore the relationship between medical education and clinical empathy, and in particular, the difference in results between those studies that demonstrated a decline in clinical empathy and those studies that did not.
 Conclusion: Study design and methodology, differences in clinical culture, and differences in curriculum were identified as three possible influences that explain the lack of consensus in the literature. This paper recommends a twofold approach to further research in the field of clinical empathy development. First, future studies examining this phenomenon should focus on longitudinal designs that incorporate objective measures and patient factors rather than relying exclusively on cross-sectional studies utilising self-assessment. Second, medical schools should be encouraged to adopt or develop techniques to assess the clinical empathy of their students and implement solutions to mitigate a decline in empathy if required.
Highlights
Clinical empathy has been repeatedly shown to increase patient satisfaction and improve clinical outcomes; it forms an important cornerstone of the physician-patient therapeutic relationship
“the ability of the physician to understand a patient’s experience, to communicate and confirm the understanding with the patient and to act in a helpful and/or therapeutic manner”,1 is central to fostering therapeutic relationships with patients and their support network.[2]
Literature reviews indicate that empathy positively impacts patient satisfaction,[3,4,5] decreases perceived distress and leads to improved clinical outcomes.[5,6]
Summary
Clinical empathy has been repeatedly shown to increase patient satisfaction and improve clinical outcomes; it forms an important cornerstone of the physician-patient therapeutic relationship. While some studies have shown that empathy in medical students decreases over the course of their education, other studies have contested these findings. Purpose: This paper reviews studies and relevant literature in order to explore the relationship between medical education and clinical empathy, and in particular, the difference in results between those studies that demonstrated a decline in clinical empathy and those studies that did not
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