How are we training future doctors and nurses in compassionate care? Training contents and practices in a school of health sciences.

Abstract

Introduction. Health sciences education provides comprehensive training in biomedical competencies and the development of the individual for professional practice. However, it often focuses on clinical competencies. There is a pressing need for more meaningful integration of training in compassionate care throughout the curriculum. The objective of this study was to identify the contents and teaching, learning, and assessment practices related to compassionate care in the medicine and nursing programs of a private university. Method. A descriptive and observational mixed-methods approach was conducted in 2022. First, a review of curriculum contents in the syllabi from the medicine and nursing programs was conducted to identify those pertaining to compassionate care; then, a survey was administered to teachers, students, and graduates of the SHS, to explore curriculum contents related to compassionate care, organized into three axes: communication and therapeutic relationship, teamwork, and self-care. Finally, focus group discussions were held to delve deeper into these aspects. This paper describes the results of the data from the programs' syllabi and surveys. Results. Both programs explicitly and implicitly offer some form of training in compassionate care. Training in compassionate care is limited and often hidden in medicine, while in nursing, it tends to be more abundant and explicit. Training primarily focuses on communication skills and therapeutic relationships, with less emphasis on teamwork and virtually no attention given to self-care. The most used methodologies are lectures, clinical cases, and rounds or clinical practices. Evaluation is carried out through summative and formative strategies, commonly through written exams featuring |both closed and open-ended questions. Conclusions. Strengths and areas for improvement are identified: the importance of formalizing and balancing contents related to compassionate care, employing more participatory and experiential teaching-learning methodologies, and emphasizing structured evaluation processes. This study provides evidence for further programs willing to improve compassionate care.