Should drama be a requirement to teach empathy?
Doctors taught empathy techniques by theater professors show improved bedside manner, according to a pilot study by a Virginia Commonwealth University research team.The findings may help in the development of medical curriculum for clinical empathy training. Clinical empathy skills allow doctors to recognize a patient’s emotional status and to respond to the patient’s needs. Patients often identify empathy skills, such as understanding, listening and honesty, as important traits in their primary care physicians.
I’m not sure that empathy that needs to be faked, or acted, is that effective.
Related posts:
- Does empathy have to take time?
- Does medical school destroy empathy?
- How to make industry influence transparent in continuing medical education
- How to reduce primary care physician burnout
- Non-teaching services: A threat to medical education?
- What is the most accurate medical show on television?
- How woo is invading medical education
KevinMD.com on Facebook
{ 1 comment }
Speaking as a professional actor in theater and motion pictures and as a physician, I think perhaps you miss the point. Acting is NOT faking emotions; it is releasing the emotion one feels so that others can see. We are taught in this culture (white,anglo-saxon) to suppress emotion and display of feelings. To demonstrate true empathy requires the opposite and good natural physicians, such as yourself, come to this easily. If others do not, then teaching them how is appropriate. It is simply a set of social skills not commonly used in our society
Comments on this entry are closed.