Impact of Narrative Medicine (Workshop Reflexive Writing)

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the impact of an educational program of Narrative Medicine workshop reflexive writing dedicated to medical students on the satisfaction of standardized patients. Design: Randomized Controlled Trial in 2 arms. Participants: Medical students (4th years) of the University Paris Descartes. Methods: Participants will be randomized in two groups. The allocation of participants will be done by a computerized randomization list, the sequence will be created by an independent statistician. Participants will be blinded of the study hypothesis. Allocation concealment will be provided because only the statistician will have access to the randomization list. A program of Narrative Medicine in Class-led instruction workshop reflexive writing vs workshop reading medical publication. Outcome: The primary endpoint will be the satisfaction of standardized patient relative to the empathy of the medical students. The secondary endpoints will be the empathy of the medical students; recommendation of the student by the standardized patients to friends or relatives; students' satisfaction. Potential interests: The investigators believe that the workshop reflexive writing can develop the thinking of the student with respect to his behavior with the patient, and so the relation between student and patient.

Official Title
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Impact of an Educational Program 'Narrative Medicine (Workshop Reflexive Writing) ' Dedicated to Medical Students. A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Conditions
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Empathy

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: reflective writing
* Behavioral: reading medical publication workshops


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All students in the fourth year of medical school have chosen for their first 2 quarters to complete an internship in clinical hospital departments (i.e. where direct contact with patients) Exclusion Criteria: All students refusing to participate in the study. All students repeaters.
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Behavioral intervention<br>Students allocated to the experimental arm will follow 5 sessions in Class-led instruction of reflexive writing workshops. They will be divided into 12 sub-groups of 8 students. They will write their stories about their own experiences or the experiences of their family / patient. | Behavioral: reflective writing<br>* Students allocated to the experimental arm will follow 5 sessions in Class-led instruction of reflexive writing workshops. They will be divided into 12 sub-groups of 8 students. They will write their stories about their own experiences or the experiences of their family / patient.<br>|
| Active Comparator: behavoral intervention<br>Students allocated to the active comparator arm will follow 5 sessions in Class-led instruction of reading medical publication workshops. They will be divided into eight subgroups of 12 students. The first and fifth sessions will be presential, and 2nd 3rd and 4th sessions will be homework to do on internet. | Behavioral: reading medical publication workshops<br> <br> |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| satisfaction of standardized patient will be assessed through the questionnaire recommended by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). | It consists of ten questions, denoted by EVGFP scale (excellent = 5, very good = 4, good = 3, fair = 2, poor = 1). | 5 months after randomization (i.e. 1 month after the end of the intervention) | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy | self-administered questionnaire consisting of 20 items scored by a Likert-type scale (strongly agree = 7, strongly disagree = 1): 10 items are rated positively, others 10 items are rated negatively. The total score ranges from 20 to 140. | 5 months after randomization (i.e. 1 month after the end of the intervention) |