Clinical Empathy Application Essay

Clinical empathy is defined as a physician’s ability to identify a patient’s perspectives and experiences and then to reciprocate these understandings back to the patient. This understanding facilitates a rich doctor-patient interaction in the clinical setting, while also producing a sense of validation within the patient. However, as twenty-first century medicine focuses on patient-centered care, studies have indicated that the implementation of standardized communication protocols and the increasing use of biomedical technologies are making many patients feel increasingly disconnected from their doctors. A growing emphasis on “compassionate care” has highlighted the missing element of empathy from this interaction, and now medical educators are addressing this empathy crisis by turning to the arts for a solution.
This past year I have
been examining the concept of clinical empathy and analyzing the theories and practices behind it. I have begun preliminary research for my honors thesis about how clinical empathy is instrumentalized in medical instruction, with a focus on how methods from the arts are being introduced into the traditionally science-oriented curriculum and its impact on training. Through a descriptive initial literature review and interviews with professors and students, I have realized that there is a paradox in modern medical training. The constant testing and assessment of clinical skills is forcing students to experience burnout; ultimately, they struggle to keep up with the rigorous demands of medical school. Somewhere in these early stages of medical education, the concept of compassionate care is lost.
With a Fulbright fellowship, I seek to expand and validate my initial investigations while completing a Master of Science (MSc) in Medical Humanities at King’s College London (KCL). This institution is the forerunner in medical humanities and offers a world renown graduate program. More importantly, KCL’s unrivaled location is key for my work. The UK, specifically London, is famous for extensive developments in medical innovations and is now a growing epicenter for medical humanities research. With access to rich medically related cultural and historical resources, such as the Wellcome Collection, Francis Crick Institute, and London Museums of Health and Medicine, I firmly believe that my project and higher studies will be most successful in London. Additionally, through the Honors Carolina Burch Fellowship, I developed a strong relationship with Performing Medicine (PM), a unique London-based theatre arts program that works in partnership with UK universities and organizations to create courses for clinical training from creative disciplines. This is the only outreach program of its kind in the UK, and I plan to work with them for my research endeavors.
MSc Program Leader Dr. Brian Hurwitz has agreed to be a potential advisor in guiding me through my coursework and dissertation. During my first term, I will tentatively complete the “Themes in Medical Humanities”, “Narrative Medicine”, and “Medical Discourses” modules. In my second term, I will continue with the “Advanced Skills for the Medical Humanities” and “London Histories of Medicine & Science” modules while starting the preparatory work for my dissertation, which will be finished by the end of that following summer. These courses are of personal interest and will help me develop a nuanced conceptual model for how the humanities can contribute to both the theory and the practice of modern day medicine and healthcare.

Grant Proposal, page 2
For my dissertation, I will conduct an integrative mixed-methods study in order to observe and measure the effects of PM’s elective art classes on empathy development in medical students. Key steps for this ethnographic research will include: developing interview questions and a protocol for administering them; consenting, recruiting, and interviewing individuals (i.e. medical professionals, professors, and students) with diverse experiences in healthcare; transcribing and qualitative coding of interview narratives; and administering the Jefferson Scale of Empathy to a select cohort for quantitative analysis. PM Artistic Director Suzy Willson and Research Manager Bella Eacott will assist me in refining my understanding of art-based pedagogy and its application in medical training. I will use anthropological and journaling practices throughout the process to make sure that I take the next logical steps in order to gather the most meaningful data. Using this data, I plan to develop a theoretical framework in which I discuss the current state of medical school education, analyze and critique the implementation of methods from the arts in clinical instruction, and propose a best-practices model that can assist medical schools in fostering clinical empathy development.
My undergraduate career has fully prepared me for my Fulbright endeavors.
An introductory course on medicine and literature ignited my passion for the medical humanities by depicting the multilayer components of medicine. I since have taken multiple graduate-level courses to refine my understanding of this field, to gain familiarity with the various research methods within this discipline, and to see and appreciate practical applications of its theory. Through my experiences as a student researcher in the Mellon-funded Falls Narrative Study, I have become proficient with ethnographic research, interviewing techniques, qualitative coding, and mixed-method data analysis. Through my fellowship experience and time with PM, I have familiarized myself with the UK medical school curriculum and the National Health Service healthcare system, while creating a base of contacts from both medicine and the arts who are willing to endorse and assist me in my research. I will continue to prepare for the Fulbright throughout this year by completing my Interdisciplinary Studies honors thesis in under the guidance of my advisor Dr. Jane
Thrailkill.
Apart from my study and research objectives, I plan to immerse into the local community by attending events organized by the KCL Health Humanities Society and Centre for Humanities and Health. This will allow me to partake in in analytic and interdisciplinary discussions relating to the applications of and advancements in medical humanities. For cultural engagement, I plan to attend events and performances arranged by Clod Ensemble, the innovative theatre company that created PM. Also, if possible, I will volunteer at a local hospital to see firsthand the cultural and clinical differences in healthcare practices and environments between the US and UK and hopefully can hear more about patients’ personal experiences in the healthcare system.
The current empathy crisis in healthcare is a growing epidemic across the world, and medical schools are rushing to find a solution. The medical humanities is necessary for providing a means to empathetically engage in the suffering of others. The language of traditional medicine is often confined by technicality, but the humanities and arts provide an alternative language for the understanding of the patient’s suffering that puts both the patient and doctor in a position of mutual vulnerability. As a student who aspires to attend medical school, this research will help me understand what it means to be an effective and empathetic healer and will allow me to put my theory into my own practice as a doctor.