The Role of Clinical Empathy as Perceived by Medical Students

Clinical empathy is a pillar of medical practice, with evidence demonstrating improved clinical outcomes and patient resilience when physician empathy is employed effectively. Despite its well-established value, studies indicate that empathy declines significantly during the third year of medical school.

To examine how medical students perceive the importance of empathy in patient care and to identify preferred methods for teaching empathy within the medical curriculum.

A survey was distributed to 456 third- and fourth-year medical students at the Medical College of Wisconsin during August and September 2018. The response rate was 39%. Chi-square analyses compared perceptions between genders and between year groups. Students who declined to identify gender were excluded from gender-based analyses.

Fourth-year students were significantly more likely than third-year students to report that working with attending physicians increased their empathy (50% vs. 34.3%, P  = .034). Female students were more likely than male students to believe that empathy improved patient outcomes (100% vs 89.2%, P  = .003). Educational preferences also differed by gender.

Medical students recognize empathy as an essential aspect of clinical care. Clinical experiences, particularly interactions with attending physicians, may enhance empathy training, and gender-based differences in educational preferences highlight the need for diversified, learner-responsive instructional methods.