“Being-in-role”: A teaching innovation to enhance empathic communication skills in medical students

BACKGROUND: The communication of empathy is key in physician-patient interactions. We introduced drama training in "How to act-in-role" to medical students and evaluated the effect of this. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was employed, with 72 students in the control and 77 students in the intervention group. The students' empathy scores were obtained using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) during the introductory course. Both groups received tutorials in motivational interviewing and brief intervention skills. The students in the intervention group also received training in "How to act-in-role". The JSPE was repeated for both groups. The students subsequently undertook observed structured clinical examinations (OSCE). Both tutors and students evaluated the student's OSCE performance as well as their motivational interviewing skills using the Behavior Change Counseling Index (BECCI). RESULTS: Our findings show that while the students in both groups did not significantly differ in baseline empathy scores, the intervention group reported significantly higher empathy scores post-intervention. The intervention group also received significantly higher tutor ratings for their motivational interviewing (BECCI score) and overall OSCE performances. In conclusion, the teaching innovation "How to act-in-role" was effective not only in increasing medical students' self-reported empathy but also their competence in consultation skills.