Can you learn empathy?

Empathy is one of the essential qualities of a good doctor. One way this is assessed at medical school is the use of objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) stations. The use of OSCEs in medical schools is controversial - it can be used to simulate clinical examination and test students’ ability to express empathy while some perceive OSCEs as an artificial and narrow understanding of clinical medicine. Topics: • How do medical students’ experiences of empathy change during their medical education? • What factors do medical students describe as influencing their empathy during medical school? • Should and can empathy be assessed? • Importance of empathy in the patient-doctor relationship Expert guest: Dr David Jeffrey is a retired palliative doctor and former academic mentor at Dundee medical school involved in student support. He also did a PhD exploring empathy in medical students. Recommended reading: • I never asked to be ICE’d - https://www.bmj.com/content/354/bmj.i3729 • Communication skills and the problem with fake patients - https://www.bmj.com/content/357/sbmj.j974?sso= *We’re looking for new panel members!* Are you a: ✅ Medical student ✅ Listener of Sharp Scratch ✅ Keen on representing the voice of medical students? In the past, the panel only consisted of medical students studying in the UK. However, remote recording meant that we can extend this opportunity to medical students in other countries. If you’re interested, please apply via the link below. We look forward to hearing from you! Apply here: https://forms.gle/QocryfkG137cWTb88 Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/

This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.