Impact of a longitudinal course on medical professionalism on the empathy of medical students.

OBJECTIVE: Medical education should enhance empathy. We examined, using self-assessment instruments and standardized patients (SPs), the impact on empathy, of a multi-year intervention (years 4-6 of medical training) that uses reflective learning approaches. METHODS: 241 final-year medical students participated; 110 from the 2018 graduation class (non-intervention group) and 131 from the 2019 graduation class (intervention group). Participants completed two self-reported empathy questionnaires - the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Students (JSE-S) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) - and a personality questionnaire, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Additionally, SPs in a simulated station assessed participants' empathy with two patient-reported instruments: the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) scale and the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE). RESULTS: Empathy scores were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the non-intervention group when assessed by the SP (p < 0.001). No differences were found in self-reported questionnaires between the two groups. CONCLUSION: A longitudinal, multi-year reflection-based intervention enhanced empathy amongst medical students as assessed by SPs, but not when assessed by student self-reported measures. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Multi-year reflective learning interventions during clinical training nurture empathy in medical students. Assessments completed by SPs or patients may enhance the evaluation of empathy.

Reliability and validity of the Spanish (Spain) version of the consultation and relational empathy measure in primary care.

BACKGROUND: Empathy is an essential competence in the medical field. There are no validated patient-rated empathy measures in Spanish (Spain). The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure is a widely used patient-rated measure of physician empathy. OBJECTIVE: To analyse the reliability and validity of the Spanish (Spain) version of the CARE measure in primary care. METHODS: After translation, back translation and pilot testing, a convenient sample of 369 patients recruited through 21 primary care physicians in five primary care centres in Pamplona (Navarre, Spain) completed the Spanish (Spain) CARE (Sp-CARE) measure. The number of 'does not apply' or blank responses was calculated to assess acceptability. We analysed internal reliability by means of Cronbach's alpha and ordinal alpha and homogeneity with corrected item-total correlations. The construct validity was examined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and concurrent validity by Spearman's correlation. RESULTS: We observed high acceptability; only 37 (1%) responses were marked 'does not apply' and only 3 (0.08%) were left blank. Cronbach's alpha and ordinal alpha for the Sp-CARE measure were 0.953 and 0.970, respectively, and all corrected item-total correlations exceeded the accepted cut of 0.30, demonstrating high internal reliability and homogeneity. CFA corroborated the one-factor structure proposed in the original version. The Sp-CARE measure total score was significantly correlated with overall patient satisfaction (Spearman's rho 0.45, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results support the reliability and validity of the Sp-CARE measure as a patient-rated empathy measure in the primary care setting.

Educación interprofesional: una propuesta de la Universidad de Navarra / Interprofessional education: A proposal from the University of Navarra

La asistencia sanitaria centrada en el paciente es la clave para una atención humana a la persona y a su familia. La práctica colaborativa en equipos interprofesionales resulta imprescindible para alcanzar una atención sanitaria de calidad. La universidad tiene la responsabilidad de preparar a sus graduados para trabajar en equipos interprofesionales. Una enseñanza/aprendizaje centrada en la persona, fundamentada en las competencias que definen la educación interprofesional, es clave para que nuestros estudiantes reconozcan la necesidad del trabajo colaborativo. Este artículo detalla un proyecto docente de educación interprofesional de la Universidad de Navarra, donde estudiantes de las facultades de medicina, enfermería y farmacia aprenden juntos y de manera gradual, las claves de cómo trabajar en equipo

Patient-centered healthcare is the key to humane care for the person and their family. Collaborative practice in interprofessional teams is essential to achieve quality healthcare. The University has the responsibility to prepare its graduates to work in interprofessional teams. A person-centered teaching-learning, based on the competences that define interprofessional education, is key for our students to recognize the need for a collaborative work. This article details a teaching project on interprofessional education at the University of Navarra, where students from medical, nursing school nad pharmacy gradually learn together the keys of a teamwork