ArticleBMC medical education2023
A survey of clinical empathy training at UK medical schools.
Article in BMC medical education, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- The association between empathy and burnout in medical students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medical education · 2024Pooled it
- The relationship between empathy levels of obstetrics and gynecology specialists and their attitudes toward posthumous organ donation.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The development, delivery, and evaluation of novel longitudinal empathy-focused communication skills training at a UK medical school.PEC innovation · 2025Article
- Learning about social suffering through illness narrative: possibilities and challenges.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Head-down tilt lithotomy position and well-leg compartment syndrome: An international survey of current practice.Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland · 2025Article
- Do students' attitudes toward required readings and service-learning for a Medical Humanities course predict their perception of whether the course fosters their personal and professional development?Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Exploring the Impact of Professional Acting on Empathy Development in Medical Students.MedEdPublish (2016) · 2025Article
- A survey of clinical empathy training at UK medical schools.BMC medical education · 2023Article
- Feeling like the enemy: the emotion management and alienation of hospital doctors.Frontiers in sociology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe benefits of enhancing practitioner empathy include better patient outcomes and improved job satisfaction for practitioners. Evidence suggests empathy can be taught and empathy is listed as an outcome for graduates in the General Medical Council requirements. Despite this, empathy training is not mandatory on medical school curricula and the extent to which medical students are given empathy-specific training is unknown.
aimTo conduct a survey of empathy training currently offered to medical students in UK medical schools.
methodsAn invitation to participate in an online survey was sent to all UK medical schools (n = 40). The survey was developed through a consultancy and pilot process to ensure validity and reliability. Questions explored what empathy-focused training is offered, and asked educators whether or not they believed that current provision of empathy training is sufficient. In parallel, medical school websites were searched to identify what information regarding empathy-focused training is described as being part of the degree course. Descriptive statistics were used to describe empathy training delivery from the results of the online materials survey and closed survey questions. Thematic analysis was used to explore free text comments.
resultsResponse rate was 70% (28/40), with 28 medical schools included in the analysis. Twenty-six schools reported that their undergraduate curriculum included some form of empathy-focused training with variation in what, when and how this is delivered. Thematic analysis revealed two overarching themes with associated sub-themes: (i) empathy-focused training and development (considering where, when and how empathy training should be integrated); (ii) challenges presented by including empathy on the curriculum (considering the system, students and faculty). All schools agreed empathy training should be on the undergraduate curriculum.
conclusionThis is the first nationwide survey of empathy-focused training at UK medical schools. While some form of empathy-focused training appears to be provided on the undergraduate curriculum at most UK medical schools, empathy is rarely specifically assessed. Most medical educators do not feel their school does enough to promote empathy and the majority would like to offer more.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.