Title : Exploring the use of virtual patient model in the context of teaching clinical empathy in medical students at a tertiary care centre: A cross-sectional study
Abstract:
Clinical empathy is a vital aspect of medical practice that enhances patient care and strengthens the doctor-patient relationship. To investigate innovative teaching methods for clinical empathy, this cross-sectional study explored using a virtual patient model in medical education. Medical students were allocated into two groups according to their roll number as odd and even: the virtual patient (VP) group, exposed to Virtual People Factory (VPF) simulations, and the standard patient (SP) group, interaction with volunteers role-playing as patients respectively.
Pre- and post-interaction changes in the empathy level of both groups were assessed using the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire. Empathetic communication was evaluated using the Empathetic Communication Coding System (ECCS) during the interaction by the research team. Results showed empathy scores between the VP and SP groups were similar, indicating the effectiveness of both approaches in enhancing clinical empathy and the potential for using VP as an empathy teaching tool.
Audience Take Away:
- Medical educators can use this study to consider incorporating virtual patients (VPs) like Virtual People Factory (VPF) simulations into their curriculum.
- Medical schools can explore the feasibility and effectiveness of VPs as a teaching tool for clinical empathy alongside traditional methods like standardized patients (SPs).
- This research can inform the development of new VP scenarios specifically designed to cultivate empathy skills.
- Medical educators can improve the quality of medical education by providing students with diverselearning experiences that enhance empathy.
- By fostering empathy, educators can equip future doctors to build stronger relationships with patients leading to better communication and care.
- This study provides valuable data for further research on clinical empathy education.
- Other faculty can use this as a foundation to explore VP applications in different contexts or with various empathy assessment tools.
- The study can also prompt research on comparing the long-term impact of VP and SP training on doctors' empathy.
- This research doesn't directly address design tasks. However, it suggests that VPs could be a practical and scalable solution for empathy training compared to SPs.
- VPs can potentially simplify scheduling and logistics of empathy training sessions.
- The study doesn't directly assess design accuracy. Still, it provides new information on the potential effectiveness of VPs as an empathy teaching tool.
- VPs can potentially offer standardized scenarios for consistent training, while SP interactions can vary depending on the volunteer.
- VPs can allow for greater control over emotional complexity within scenarios to target specific empathy skills.
