Using reflective writing to enhance empathy among medical students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychology
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Higher-order thinking skills like empathy and compassion are crucial for effective medical practice.
• Reflective writing is a pedagogical tool with potential to foster these essential qualities in healthcare trainees.
• Understanding the impact of reflective writing on empathy is vital for curriculum development in medical schools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of reflective writing as a method for enhancing empathy among final-year medical students.
• To assess changes in empathy levels before and after a clinical clerkship incorporating reflective writing exercises.

Main Methods:

• An interventional study was conducted with 73 final-year medical students.
• The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire was administered anonymously pre- and post-clerkship.
• Students engaged in reflective writing about their patient care experiences during the clerkship.

Main Results:

• Reflective writing exercises elicited significant emotional responses from the students.
• However, there was no statistically significant improvement in overall empathy scores as measured by the questionnaire.
• Qualitative analysis suggested potential benefits in specific empathy constructs like perspective-taking and compassion.

Conclusions:

• While reflective writing generates emotional engagement, it may not rapidly increase measurable empathy scores in medical students during short-term interventions.
• Reflective writing could still be valuable for cultivating specific components of empathy, such as compassion and perspective-taking, within clinical clerkships.
• Longer-term studies are warranted to determine the sustained impact of reflective writing on empathy development in medical professionals.