Nurturing Empathy through Arts, Literature, and Role Play for Postgraduate Trainees of Ophthalmology

Empathy is essential in patient-centered compassionate health care. Lack of formal training, workload, patient factors, and digitalization have been attributed to its regression. Empathy can be nurtured by educational interventions. A structured empathy education module for postgraduate trainees is not available in India. The aim for this research was to develop, deliver, and evaluate one for ophthalmology postgraduate trainees.

This interventional study was conducted in the tertiary ophthalmology department of Western India during 2022-2023. Four workshops comprising of interactive lectures, literature, creative arts, and role plays were delivered with trained facilitators. Data from surveys for trainee self-assessment, patient perception of trainee empathy, pre-post knowledge test, and trainee and facilitator feedback were collected and analyzed.

Seventy-nine ophthalmology postgraduate trainees participated in this intervention. Excessive workload and lack of training were shared as the barriers to empathetic care. Trainees showed improved knowledge, skills, and attitude in empathy after the workshops. The facilitators and trainees were satisfied with the learning goals, execution, utility, feasibility, and relevance of the workshops. Ninety-three percent trainees want this module to be a part of postgraduate curriculum.

This study substantiates the use of structured interactive training for cultivating empathy in postgraduate trainees. Barriers against empathy were identified and can be mitigated by restorative measures. Literature, arts, and role plays are the effective education tools for empathy.