ArticleBMC medical education2025
Visual hermeneutics as a tool to introduce empathy and core physician attributes in doctor-patient relationship for first-year medical undergraduate students.
Article in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 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.
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The emerging trends of healthcare professions' ethics education in recent 10 years: a systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Shaping the Doctor-Patient Relationship: A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Teaching Attitude, Ethics and Communication Through the Use of An Online Escape Room for First-Year Medical Students.Advances in medical education and practice · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe doctor-patient relationship is essential for effective patient care, yet medical education often neglects to nurture the quality such as empathy during the initial years of training. Doctor-patient relationship is one of the modules taught in first year as part of mandatory AETCOM (Attitude, Ethics, and Communication) course in the undergraduate Indian medical curriculum. Hermeneutics, a method of interpretation, can play a vital role in introducing observational and reflective thinking skills. This study aimed to introduce empathy concepts and attributes of a good physician to first-year medical students through the use of paintings and visual hermeneutics to enhance their understanding of the doctor-patient relationship.
methodsA newly developed and validated educational module on the "Doctor-patient relationship" was administered to 250 first-year undergraduate medical students at Kasturba Medical College Manipal. The session was structured into three key steps:
introductionPresenting Sir Luke Fildes' famous painting, The Doctor. SELF-UNDERSTANDING AND
interpretationEncouraging students to analyse and interpret the painting. DEBRIEFING: Facilitating discussions to consolidate learning. The session's effectiveness was evaluated using the initial two levels of the Kirkpatrick evaluation model. The learners feedback regarding the usefulness of the session was captured using a validated questionnaire, while reflective writing assignments were used to explore students' learnings from the intervention.
resultsStudent feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with participants expressing that the session significantly enhanced their understanding of professional qualities and empathy in the doctor-patient relationship, rating their overall learning experience at 8.63 out of 10. Students expressed that the use of painting and interactive discussions greatly enriched their capacity to connect with emotional and ethical dimensions of medical practice. Reflective writing revealed the importance of building trust, demonstrating professional conduct, and maintaining empathy and compassion in clinical interactions.
conclusionIntroducing a visual hermeneutics approach has the potential to cultivate empathy and foster a deeper understanding of the doctor-patient relationship. Introducing this approach during the formative years of medical training can nurture compassionate and virtuous conduct, reinforcing students' commitment to delivering empathetic and competent care throughout their medical careers.
trial registrationThe institutional ethics committee approved the conduct of the study [IEC180/2023].
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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.