Abstract
Background:Empathy is an essential ingredient of patient-centered care. Traditional neurology clerkship does not provide a structured way to teach, evaluate and inculcate the virtue of empathy among our medical students while dealing with various complex neurological conditions. We designed an innovative Objective Structured Clinical Evaluations (O.S.C.E.s) entitled as Empathetic Neurological Care (ENC) O.S.C.E.s as a part of clerkship evaluation to assess empathy among American Medical Graduates (A.M.G.s) and International Medical Graduates (I.M.G.s) and establish the need of training of empathy skills to future professionals.Study Objective: We aim to illustrate the model of Empathetic Neurological Care (ENC) O.S.C.E. & to report the comparative analysis of empathy scores among the A.M.G.s and I.M.G.s.Methods: This is a pilot study comparing empathy among A.M.G.s and I.M.G.s, measured by the Standardized Patients (SPs) using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (7-point Likert type scale) during pre-designed ENC-OSCEs. The proposed curriculum included complex neurological cases involving breaking bad news (e.g., delivering the diagnosis of A.L.S.), opioid addiction counseling, disclosing medical error (stroke), and explaining the diagnosis of non-epileptic seizures.Results: 12 students (6 AMGs, 3 Males/ 3 Females and 6 IMGs 4 Males/2 Females) completed the OSCE. A.M.G.s scored higher in empathy scores graded by S.P.s than I.M.G.s (P=0.0004). Conclusion: A.M.G.s scored higher empathy as compared to I.M.G.s by the S.P.s during ENC-OSCEs. We highlight the importance of focused empathy training with assessment during neurology clerkship rotations for A.M.G.s & the need of formal curricular training as a part of the orientation program at the beginning of residency training for I.M.G.s.
ON THE COVERContinuing Controversy Over the International Medical GraduateNational Interest Waiver Eligibility for International Medical GraduatesHigh-Stakes Medical Performance Testing: The Clinical Skills Assessment ProgramThe Posttraining Plans of International Medical Graduates and US Medical Graduates in New York StateOvercoming Cultural Barriers: International Medical Graduates in the United States