scholarly journals Empathy Can Be Taught, and Patients Teach it Best

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 238212052110003
Author(s):  
Sudhagar Thangarasu ◽  
Gowri Renganathan ◽  
Piruthiviraj Natarajan

Empathy toward patients is an essential skill for a physician to deliver the best care for any patient. Empathy also protects the physician from moral injury and decreases the chances for malpractice litigations. The current graduate medical education curriculum allows trainees to graduate without getting focused training to develop empathy as a core competency domain. The tools to measure empathy inherently lack validity. The accurate measure of the provider’s empathy comes from the patient’s perspectives of their experience and their feedback, which is rarely reaching the trainee. The hidden curriculum in residency programs gives mixed messages to trainees due to inadequate role modeling by attending physicians. This narrative style manuscript portrays a teachable moment at the bedside vividly. The teaching team together reflected upon the lack of empathy, took steps to resolve the issue. The attending demonstrated role modeling as an authentic and impactful technique to teach empathy. The conclusion includes a proposal to include the patient’s real-time feedback to trainees as an essential domain under Graduate Medical Education core competencies of professionalism and patient care.

2007 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 812-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Tetzlaff ◽  
David C. Warltier

Assessment of competency in traditional graduate medical education has been based on observation of clinical care and classroom teaching. In anesthesiology, this has been relatively easy because of the high volume of care provided by residents under the direct observation of faculty in the operating room. With the movement to create accountability for graduate medical education, there is pressure to move toward assessment of competency. The Outcome Project of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has mandated that residency programs teach six core competencies, create reliable tools to assess learning of the competencies, and use the data for program improvement. General approaches to assessment and how these approaches fit into the context of anesthesiology are highly relevant for academic physicians.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
pp. e298-e300
Author(s):  
John C. Lin ◽  
Alfred A. Paul ◽  
Ingrid U. Scott ◽  
Paul B. Greenberg

AbstractTo present a revised, publicly available virtual reality cataract surgery course for ophthalmology residents that integrates a novel mental practice program into the curriculum, fulfills the six core competencies of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and adheres to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention educational recommendations for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.


2014 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan B. Lane-Fall ◽  
Amber K. Brooks ◽  
Sara A. Wilkins ◽  
Joshua J. Davis ◽  
Lee Ann Riesenberg

Abstract The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires that residency programs teach residents about handoffs and ensure their competence in this communication skill. Development of hand-off curricula for anesthesia residency programs is hindered by the paucity of evidence regarding how to conduct, teach, and evaluate handoffs in the various settings where anesthesia practitioners work. This narrative review draws from literature in anesthesia and other disciplines to provide recommendations for anesthesia resident hand-off curriculum development and evaluation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn Rosenbluth ◽  
Bridget O'Brien ◽  
Emily M. Asher ◽  
Christine S. Cho

Abstract Background Faculty in graduate medical education programs may not have uniform approaches to differentiating the quality of residents, and reviews of evaluations suggest that faculty use different standards when assessing residents. Standards for assessing residents also do not consistently map to items on evaluation forms. One way to improve assessment is to reach consensus on the traits and behaviors that are (or should be) present in the best residents. Methods A trained interviewer conducted semistructured interviews with faculty affiliated with 2 pediatrics residency programs until content saturation was achieved. Interviewees were asked to describe specific traits present in residents they identify as the best. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. We used an iterative, inductive approach to generate a coding scheme and identify common themes. Results From 23 interviews, we identified 7 thematic categories of traits and behaviors: personality, energy, professionalism, team behaviors, self-improvement behaviors, patient-interaction behaviors, and medical knowledge and clinical skills (including a subcategory, knowledge integration). Most faculty interviewees focused on traits like passion, enthusiasm, maturity, and reliability. Examination score or intelligence was mentioned less frequently than traits and behaviors categorized under personality and professionalism. Conclusions Faculty identified many traits and behaviors in the residents they define as the best. The thematic categories had incomplete overlap with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and CanMEDS competencies. This research highlights the ongoing need to review our assessment strategies, and may have implications for the ACGME Milestone Project.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 649-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen D. Holt ◽  
Rebecca S. Miller ◽  
Thomas J. Nasca

Abstract Background In 1999, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcome Project began to focus on resident performance in the 6 competencies of patient care, medical knowledge, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal communication skills, and professionalism. Beginning in 2007, the ACGME began collecting information on how programs assess these competencies. This report provides information on the nature and extent of those assessments. Methods Using data collected by the ACGME for site visits, we use descriptive statistics and percentages to describe the number and type of methods and assessors accredited programs (n  =  4417) report using to assess the competencies. Observed differences among specialties, methodologies, and assessors are tested with analysis of variance procedures. Results Almost all (>97%) of programs report assessing all of the competencies and using multiple methods and multiple assessors. Similar assessment methods and evaluator types were consistently used across the 6 competencies. However, there were some differences in the use of patient and family as assessors: Primary care and ambulatory specialties used these to a greater extent than other specialties. Conclusion Residency programs are emphasizing the competencies in their evaluation of residents. Understanding the scope of evaluation methodologies that programs use in resident assessment is important for both the profession and the public, so that together we may monitor continuing improvement in US graduate medical education.


2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lourdes R. Guerrero ◽  
Susan Baillie ◽  
Paul Wimmers ◽  
Neil Parker

Abstract Background The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires physicians in training to be educated in 6 competencies considered important for independent medical practice. There is little information about the experiences that residents feel contribute most to the acquisition of the competencies. Objective To understand how residents perceive their learning of the ACGME competencies and to determine which educational activities were most helpful in acquiring these competencies. Method A web-based survey created by the graduate medical education office for institutional program monitoring and evaluation was sent to all residents in ACGME-accredited programs at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, from 2007 to 2010. Residents responded to questions about the adequacy of their learning for each of the 6 competencies and which learning activities were most helpful in competency acquisition. Results We analyzed 1378 responses collected from postgraduate year-1 (PGY-1) to PGY-3 residents in 12 different residency programs, surveyed between 2007 and 2010. The overall response rate varied by year (66%–82%). Most residents (80%–97%) stated that their learning of the 6 ACGME competencies was “adequate.” Patient care activities and observation of attending physicians and peers were listed as the 2 most helpful learning activities for acquiring the 6 competencies. Conclusion Our findings reinforce the importance of learning from role models during patient care activities and the heterogeneity of learning activities needed for acquiring all 6 competencies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document