Rapid Scoping Review: Empathy in Health Sciences Curriculum

Abstract

Empathy, the process of coming to know, understand, and care for another person, is a skill that can be learned; however, there is not a shared definition of empathy or understanding of how to operationalize empathy into practice. Healthcare worker empathy has been shown to have a beneficial effect on both patient health outcomes and the emotional wellness of healthcare workers. Empathic care is associated with more efficient, cost-effective, improved healthcare, and increased provider trust. The purpose of this rapid scoping review is to identify, compare, and contrast empathy training offered to select healthcare professional students (e.g., nurses, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists) as part of the general curriculum or as an elective. We utilized a rapid scoping review approach to identify potentially relevant peer-reviewed articles and studies for inclusion. Six electronic databases were searched, including: MEDLINE; EMBASE; PUBMed; CINAHL; EBSCOHOST; and ERIC, covering the past 10 years. A total of 4977 citations, 3480 abstracts, and 428 papers were screened. Fifty studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Of those, 21 primarily non-randomized experimental studies published between 2012 and 2021 were included in the final review. Over 80 percent of the training took place in the classroom setting and utilized active learning strategies. There is little consensus on how to best train future healthcare providers to provide empathic care to patients.

The Greek Jefferson Scale of Empathy—Medical Student Version (JSE-S): Psychometric Properties and Its Associated Factors

“…Physician empathy has been shown to have many beneficial effects on both patients and physicians, and their relationship as well. Physician empathy can help build trust in the patient–physician relationship, enhance patient–physician communication, prevent medical paternalism, improve patient satisfaction and health outcomes, and “support patient self-efficacy, treatment adherence, and disease management planning” [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Furthermore, physician empathy enhances the emotional wellbeing of physicians [ 4 ].…”

“…Physician empathy can help build trust in the patient–physician relationship, enhance patient–physician communication, prevent medical paternalism, improve patient satisfaction and health outcomes, and “support patient self-efficacy, treatment adherence, and disease management planning” [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Furthermore, physician empathy enhances the emotional wellbeing of physicians [ 4 ]. Robinson et al state that “studies suggest that healthcare worker empathy is associated with lower malpractice claims rates, job satisfaction, and reduced burnout” [ 4 ].…”

“…Furthermore, physician empathy enhances the emotional wellbeing of physicians [ 4 ]. Robinson et al state that “studies suggest that healthcare worker empathy is associated with lower malpractice claims rates, job satisfaction, and reduced burnout” [ 4 ].…”

“…In general terms, empathy is “the process of coming to know, understand, and care for another person” which involves “recognizing the emotions and putting yourself “in the shoes” of others” [ 4 ]. Not surprisingly, exploring the phenomenon of empathy is an ongoing research topic.…”

“…Since religion can motivate people to show kindness, compassion, and love to their fellow man, one can assume that there is an association between faith in God and empathy. Interestingly, empathy training can enhance empathy and prevent empathy erosion [ 4 , 14 , 35 ]. Identifying potential predictors can help instructors create effective empathy-enhancing educational interventions.…”