Enhancing Empathy in Medical Communication Through Perspective-Taking

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Background: Empathy is critical to clinician-patient communication and patient outcomes. Perspective-taking, an intervention demonstrated in other contexts to induce empathy, has never been studied in a medical context. As a first step in evaluating its potential clinical value, the studies described below assess perspective taking in a series of clinical skills examinations. These examinations are simulated clinical encounters: students encounter and are evaluated by standardized patients (SPs)--actors trained to take on patient roles. Though not real clinical encounters, clinical skills examinations have been demonstrated to test clinical competency well enough to be incorporated into the licensure examination of the National Board of Medical Examiners. Objective: To assess if perspective-taking improves the satisfaction of standardized patients in three clinical skills examinations. Hypothesis: Students receiving a perspective taking intervention will receive better standardized patient satisfaction scores than control students. Design and Setting: Three randomized, controlled studies. Studies 1 and 3: Junior medical students(N = 503), 6-station clinical skills examination. Study 2: physician assistant students (N = 105), 3-station clinical skills examination. Intervention: The intervention students received a perspective-taking instruction prior to their examination asking them to put themselves in their patients shoes and to imagine what they were thinking and feeling. The control students received standard pre-examination instructions. Simulated patients were blind to study condition. Main Outcome Measure: Simulated patient satisfaction scores.

Detailed Description
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These studies assess the interaction of students and simulated patients (actors)--no real patients were involved.

Official Title
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Enhancing Empathy in Medical Communication Through Perspective-Taking

Conditions
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Patient Satisfaction

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Perspective taking instruction


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All third year medical and first and second year physician assistant students, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Exclusion Criteria: None

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 20 Years
Maximum Age: 45 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Perspective taking intervention<br>Students were given an instruction to take the perspectives of their standardized patients | Behavioral: Perspective taking instruction<br>* Students were asked to take the perspective of their standardized patients during clinical skills examinations<br>|
| Active Comparator: Control<br>Students given standard instructions | Behavioral: Perspective taking instruction<br>* Students were asked to take the perspective of their standardized patients during clinical skills examinations<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| standardized patient satisfaction |  |  | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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medical communication, empathy, medical education, standardized patients, enhancing patient satisfaction