Presentation Description
NAMRATA CHHABRA1
Elize Archer2, Sarah Chhabra3, Sahiba Kukreja4 and Chhavi Bhardwaj5
1 American University of Antigua College of Medicine
2 Stellenbosch University
3 University of Virginia, Charlottesville
4 Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical sciences
5 Embark Behavioral Health, San Diego
Elize Archer2, Sarah Chhabra3, Sahiba Kukreja4 and Chhavi Bhardwaj5
1 American University of Antigua College of Medicine
2 Stellenbosch University
3 University of Virginia, Charlottesville
4 Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical sciences
5 Embark Behavioral Health, San Diego
1. Background:
Empathy, conceptualized as the multidimensional process of recognizing, understanding, and responding to the emotions of others, is pivotal for medical practitioners. As medical education undergoes transformative changes in the digital era, there is a burgeoning need to understand the neurocognitive underpinnings of empathy, identify effective teaching methods that inculcate it, and design precise assessment tools to gauge its evolution in medical students.
2. Importance for Research and Practice:
Neuroscientific studies have identified specific brain regions and networks involved in empathy. Understanding the neural pathways can inform evidence-based strategies to nurture it. In clinical practice, a higher degree of empathy correlates with improved diagnostic accuracy, enhanced patient adherence to treatment, and decreased malpractice incidents. Additionally, research indicates that physicians with heightened empathy experience lower rates of burnout, underscoring its importance for practitioner well-being. Therefore, the question isn't merely whether to incorporate empathy in medical curricula but how to do it optimally.
3. Workshop Format, Including Participant Engagement Methods: The workshop will integrate a multifaceted approach:
- Interactive Lecture: Elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying empathic responses, offering insights into their biological significance.
- Pedagogical Strategy Demonstrations: Featuring evidence-based instructional methodologies, from case-based learning to immersive patient simulations, that foster empathy.
- Hands-On Innovative Assessment Techniques: Exploring modern tools and metrics, such as objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) with empathy-specific rubrics and virtual reality-based assessments.
- Group Discussions and Activities: Facilitating active participant involvement in critiquing teaching and assessment modalities.
- Collaborative Conclusion: Participants will collaborate on creating a group document, highlighting best practices, research gaps, and areas for further research.
4. Who Should Participate?
- Medical educators involved in curriculum design and assessment, researchers in medical education, psychometricians, clinical educators, and educational policymakers.
5. Level of Workshop:
- Intermediate. Participants are expected to have prior knowledge of medical educational methodologies and a foundational understanding of assessment strategies.
6. Take-Home Messages/Workshop Outcomes/Implications for Further Research or Practice:
- Empathy has concrete neurobiological underpinnings that can guide its cultivation in medical education.
- Pedagogical innovations, grounded in empirical evidence, can enhance empathic capabilities.
- Modern assessment techniques offer more nuanced insights into empathy development, providing feedback loops for curriculum design.
- Interdisciplinary collaboration between neuroscience, education, and clinical practice is paramount for advancing empathy in medical education.
7. Maximum Number of Participants:
- 40-50 participants to ensure in-depth discussions, personalized feedback, and a conducive environment for collaborative conclusions.
References (maximum three)
- Decety, J., & Jackson, P. L. (2004). The functional architecture of human empathy. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 3(2), 71-100.
- Riess, H., Kelley, J. M., Bailey, R. W., Dunn, E. J., & Phillips, M. (2012). Empathy training for resident physicians: A randomized controlled trial of a neuroscience-informed curriculum. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 27(10), 1280-1286.
- Hemmerdinger, J. M., Stoddart, S. D., & Lilford, R. J. (2007). A systematic review of tests of empathy in medicine. BMC Medical Education, 7(1), 24.