Abstract
BackgroundExperiential learning through service provides opportunities to nurture and practice empathy. Of growing concern, studies showed significantly decreased empathy scores as students progress through medical school. Additionally, peer-to-peer learning provides an effective way for students to learn. Constructing Care Collaboration (CCC) is a student initiated, structured-service-learning-program that promotes the development of empathy and peer-to-peer teaching. CCC is conducted in cycles of 6 sessions. This is a mixed methods study that explores the effectiveness of CCC as a service learning platform in developing student participants’ empathy, social and cultural competencies, communication skills and peer-to-peer teaching skills, ultimately aiming to promote a culture of serving the underprivileged.MethodsThe study comprised of a self-administered quantitative questionnaire and qualitative interviews. Both evaluated if CCC participation developed volunteers’ social-awareness, cultural competency, communication, confidence and motivation to teach their peers.ResultsQuantitative data were collated from 38 completed student volunteers’ questionnaires. Volunteers generally agreed CCC improved social-awareness and cultural competency. It increased confidence of participants in approaching migrant-workers, communicating with people from different social backgrounds, and promoted a culture of peer-to-peer teaching.Thematic analysis of 17 interviews was conducted. Themes identified include: increased empathy towards migrant-workers, improved communication skills, and identifying benefits and challenges in peer-to-peer teaching.ConclusionFrom the quantitative and qualitative information gathered, CCC has been shown to be effective in nurturing participants’ self-reported empathy, cultural competence, communication skills and improved attitude towards peer-to-peer teaching. Given its effectiveness, CCC can be adopted as a model for structured service-learning.
Highlights
Experiential learning through service provides opportunities to nurture and practice empathy
Aim This study aims to both quantitatively and qualitatively explore, through participants’ self evaluation and reflection, if and how Constructing Care Collaboration (CCC) was beneficial as a service learning platform, in developing student participants’ empathy, social and cultural competence, communication skills and peerto-peer teaching skills
With regards to demographics of participants of the qualitative interviews, there was a similar distribution of participants across gender, age group, year of study, clinic attended and role in CCC
Summary
Experiential learning through service provides opportunities to nurture and practice empathy. Constructing Care Collaboration (CCC) is a student initiated, structured-service-learning-program that promotes the development of empathy and peer-to-peer teaching. CCC is conducted in cycles of 6 sessions This is a mixed methods study that explores the effectiveness of CCC as a service learning platform in developing student participants’ empathy, social and cultural competencies, communication skills and peer-to-peer teaching skills, aiming to promote a culture of serving the underprivileged. Several reports on service learning programs attribute these benefits to the exposure to a culturally different community that they otherwise would not have interacted with [9], and to structured reflection of the experience [10]. Cultural competence is often defined in literature as having the attitudes, behaviours and practices to provide effective healthcare, taking into account the background, beliefs and needs of patients from different cultures [11, 12]. The experience in CCC may prepare medical students for work in culturally diverse settings [14]
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