Rediscovering empathy in medical education: Experiencing literature and film.

摘要

Empathy is essential for good medical care because it creates an intimate setting in which the doctor and patient understand each other more clearly. Such an understanding can help the patient feel at ease while allowing the doctor to do a more thorough investigation with the patient, resulting in an accurate diagnosis. The more the doctor understands the patient, the better treatment the patient will receive. Therefore, the development of empathy should be a key part of medical education and training. Through presentation and analysis of literature and film, conversation among medical students and healthcare practitioners can help recover personal empathy by not only evoking emotion and conscience, but also by deepening moral imagination.; In this paper, the author explores the loss and recovery of empathy and details the necessity of empathy in medical care. An important connection is drawn between imagination and empathy while exploring the concept of narrative medicine. Specific pieces of literature and film are reviewed and analyzed. Finally, a collection of pieces valuable in redeveloping and nurturing personal empathy when used in pre-medical, medical and residency education is presented.