‘The patient will never care how much you know until they know how much you care. It is rightly said that a doctor who knows his/her patient is complete in the true sense. Empathy is one of the core elements of a doctor’s clinical expertise. The doctor-patient relationship is built on the trust that the doctor inculcates in the patient. This article will try to throw some light on why empathy is an inevitable part of a doctor’s life.

Does empathy positively influence patient perception?

Patients hunt for genuine empathy from their medical doctor. Empathy is an effective mode of understanding and being enthused by another’s experiences. However, a leading group of medical doctors defined empathy as ‘the act of correctly acknowledging the emotional state of another without experiencing that state oneself.'

Medical educationists and medical professional bodies try to reinforce empathy among doctors so as to strengthen the bond between doctors and patients and thereby increase their trust and compliance because there are a lot of reports published regarding poor empathy level among medical doctors which show the medical profession in a bad light.

Empathy in healthcare professionals is mostly related to an intellectual quality that permits an understanding of the experience, concerns and perspectives of a patient, as well as the skill to communicate that understanding. Empathy has been identified as the nucleus of the success of the health-giving activity. Empathy is one strong communication expertise, as it incorporates a linking and an understanding that comprises the mind, body and soul, and when used properly during a medical interview, it can prove to be wondrous.

The medical interview is the practising physician’s most versatile diagnostic and therapeutic tool. However, interviewing is also one of the most difficult clinical skills to master. The connection with the patient is both intellectual and emotional. An empathetic doctor would care for patients’ values, ideas and feelings beyond deductive logic, physical examinations and treatment. Subsequently, this highly effective and influential communication tool builds patient belief, reduces anxiety, improves satisfaction, increases adherence to treatment and lowers malpractice complaints, as well as increases physician health, well‑being and professional satisfaction, and improves health outcomes.

Clinical empathy is a firm method to develop a good rapport with the patient. Furthermore, a good rapport with the patient has been reported to have positively correlated with high levels of patient contentment and healthcare consequences. Multiple research reported that clinical empathy level declines while becoming more senior and older. Although ample research studies had demonstrated that more empathetic physicians achieve more professional success because of better treatment-related outcomes, another study revealed that higher burnout among medical residents leads to a decrease in empathy and compassion among them.

Empathy-burnout relationship

In a study published by Sara Ferreira and Pedro Alfonso in the Journal of Evaluation of Clinical Practice, the prevalence of burnout among medical doctors and its negative effect on empathy was studied and how it can influence therapeutic success. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of empathy and burnout between residents and specialists as well as to study the correlation between empathy and burnout. Each doctor filled in a questionnaire, which included the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE).

• In all three MBI subscales (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment), the group of residents showed significantly higher mean scores
• In general, empathy scores showed an inverse relationship between depersonalisation and lack of personal accomplishment
• They also found that an increase in MBI level is associated with a decrease in empathy levels

Dr. Shilpa M published a study recently in the National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology relating to the effect of a new curriculum put forth by the MCI to improve empathy among medical students. Among the participants,

• 51.76% totally agreed, 23.53% of them partially agreed with the concepts of the new curriculum, whereas 82% of the students realised the difference between healing and curing
• About 88% of them said that treating all patients with equanimity is an important ethical concern
• About 92% of them realised their duties and responsibilities towards society as a doctor
• About 74% of them agreed with the ethical concern of respect toward the patient’s autonomy

Conclusion

The doctor-patient relationship is based on mutual trust and respect between the two parties. However, the rapid changes in the medical field and the corporatisation of the healthcare system have deteriorated the age-old good relations between the patient and the treating physician/surgeon. However, the ethical, moral and legal obligations of the doctors are enshrined in the Hippocratic Oath that we take when being ordained into the medical fraternity and we should try to uphold them.

This article was originally published on 12 March 2021.

Disclaimer- The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of M3 India.