UC Irvine study weighs in on empathy teachings

Deirdre Newman

Physicians are divided on exactly what approach to use to teach

empathy, according to a new UC Irvine College of Medicine study.

The study, released in the April issue of Academic Medicine, is

believed to be one of the first to shed light on how empathy is taught to

students. It demonstrates that limiting the teaching of empathy to

actions such as eye contact and body language won’t alone help students

learn to better understand their patients.

Johanna Shapiro, professor of family medicine, found that medical

school faculty usually combine comprehensive behavioral and specific

actions when teaching empathy to students, but often disagree on which

approach is more effective.

“Before this study, we knew very little about exactly how empathy was

taught to medical students. Empathy is an important part of a medical

career, where a doctor must be able to put him- or herself into the

patients’ shoes and understand what they’re feeling,” Shapiro said in a

statement. “It can be taught, but there is some disagreement on whether

specific action-based lessons are better than a broad, attitudinal

model.”

Shapiro interviewed 12 UCI primary care faculty members who had been

recognized for their outstanding teaching abilities. All faculty members

said empathy should be an integral part of a medical student’s education.

The faculty surveyed acknowledged that empathy was difficult for new

physicians to use effectively, given the pressures of medical training

and the tendency of students and doctors to distance themselves from

patients’ ills and emotions.

“Empathy isn’t sympathy; it’s not feeling sorry for a patient but

understanding what they’re going through,” Shapiro said. “Proper training

in empathy for patients may help physicians avoid the cynicism and

harmful self-protective strategies that crop up during a medical career.”