Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026
09:55
Bridging the Technology Divide in the COVID-19 Era: Using Virtual Outreach to Expose Middle and High School Students to Imaging Technology
Published on: September 28, 2022
Do medical students respond empathetically to a virtual patient?
Adeline M Deladisma1, Marc Cohen, Amy Stevens
1Department of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA.
American Journal of Surgery
|May 22, 2007
Summary
Medical students showed fewer nonverbal communication skills and less empathy when interacting with virtual patients (VP) compared to standardized patients (SP). While VPs offer practice, SPs better simulate genuine physician-patient interactions for developing complex communication skills.
Area of Science:
- Medical education technology
- Physician-patient communication skills
- Clinical simulation
Background:
- Nonverbal communication and empathy are crucial for physician-patient relationships.
- Virtual patients (VP) and standardized patients (SP) are used to teach communication skills.
- The study investigates the efficacy of VPs versus SPs in teaching complex communication skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of virtual patients (VP) versus standardized patients (SP) in teaching complex communication skills.
- To assess similarities in nonverbal behaviors and empathy when students interact with VPs and SPs.
Main Methods:
- Eighty-four medical students interviewed either a SP or a highly interactive VP.
- The VP was a life-sized projection in an exam room setting.
- Clinicians rated student videotapes on nonverbal communication and empathy using a Likert scale.
Main Results:
- Students interacting with SPs demonstrated significantly higher ratings in nonverbal communication (head nod, body lean) and empathy.
- Higher ratings were observed for SP interactions regarding immersion, attitude, and question clarity.
- Empathy strongly correlated with nonverbal behaviors, particularly eye contact, head nod, and body lean.
Conclusions:
- Medical students exhibit nonverbal behaviors and empathy with VPs, but less effectively than with SPs.
- VP interactions resulted in less genuine empathy compared to SP scenarios.
- Virtual clinical scenarios can supplement SP programs for safe, repeatable practice.
Related Concept Videos
02:34Empathy
Some researchers suggest that altruism operates on empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand another person’s perspective, to feel what he or she feels. An empathetic person makes an emotional connection with others and feels compelled to help (Batson, 1991). Empathy can be expressed in several ways, including cognitive, affective, and motor.
01:13Patient-centered Care
Patient-centered care involves delivering care beyond inpatient hospitalization. Reflective practice can enhance a patient-centered approach. Reflective practice is a process of reasoning that considers all aspects of the present situation, including practicalities, learning from personal practice, and consideration of patient needs. Patients appreciate care decisions made while considering their input. Involving the patient in their care provides the patient with a sense of contribution rather...
01:15Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
The history of therapeutic communication can be traced back to Florence Nightingale, who emphasized the importance of developing trusting relationships with patients. She taught that the presence of nurses with patients results in therapeutic healing.
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
01:22Ethics and Bioethics
Ethics is a philosophical study of moral actions. Ethics attempts to determine what is valuable for individuals and society. It examines the rational justification of moral judgments and analyzes what is morally just, fair, and right. Bioethics is a sub-discipline of applied ethics that analyzes the philosophical, social, and legal issues in life sciences and medicine. Ethical theories serve as a foundation for decision-making and represent the viewpoints from which people seek direction. They...
01:27Ethical Issues
Nurses are essential in patient care, upholding the ethical principles of their profession and effectively navigating ethical dilemmas. Neglecting ethical issues can lead to inadequate patient care, compromised therapeutic relationships, and moral distress among healthcare workers.
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
01:30Therapeutic Communication
Communication is a lifelong learning process. Through therapeutic communication, nurses can collect relevant assessment data, provide education and counseling, and interact during nursing interventions. Sending and receiving messages occur through verbal and nonverbal communication techniques and can happen separately or simultaneously.
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...