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Do Health Professions Students Respond Empathetically To A Virtual Patient ?

Do Health Professions Students Respond Empathetically To A Virtual Patient ?. Adeline Deladisma MD MPH 1 , Marc Cohen MD 5 , Thomas Bernard BS 1 , Amy Stevens MD 5 , Peggy Wagner PHD 2 , Christopher Oxendine BS 5 ,

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Do Health Professions Students Respond Empathetically To A Virtual Patient ?

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  1. Do Health Professions Students Respond Empathetically To A Virtual Patient ? Adeline Deladisma MD MPH1, Marc Cohen MD5, Thomas Bernard BS1, Amy Stevens MD5, Peggy Wagner PHD2, Christopher Oxendine BS5, Lori Schumacher PhD3, Kyle Johnson4, Robert Dickerson4, Andrew Raij4, Benjamin Lok PhD4, Margaret Duerson PhD5, J. Garret Harper MD1, D. Scott Lind MD1 Departments of Surgery1, Family Medicine2, School of Nursing3 Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA Colleges of Engineering4 and Medicine5, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

  2. Background • Standardized patients (SPs) are used for teaching and testing of communication skills, but SPs are time and resource expensive. • Virtual patients (VPs) may offer several advantages over SPs, but little data exists regarding their use in teaching communication skills.

  3. Background • Significant information exchange also occurs between a patient and physician using nonverbal communication skills. • Empathy is an important trust building element in the doctor:patient relationship.

  4. Specific Aim • Previous work validated the use of VPs to teach and assess content items related to history-taking and basic communication skills. • The purpose of this study was to compare student interactions between a VP and an SP with respect more complex communication skills such as nonverbal behaviors and empathy.

  5. Methods • Medical students (n=84) at the University of Florida and the Medical College of Georgia participated in a videotaped interview with either an SP or VP with an identical abdominal pain scenario. • To prompt an empathetic response during the scenario the VP or SP stated “I’m scared can you help me ?”

  6. Methods • Videotapes were rated by clinicians with respect to nonverbal communication skills (i.e. eye-gauze, body lean, head nod). • Student empathy was also assessed using a Likert scale with anchored descriptors. • Data = Mean±SD analyzed by Students t-test.

  7. Results • No difference between VP and SP in student performance on content items related to history-taking.

  8. Results 1Likert-type scale (1=least, 4=most) *p<0.05

  9. Results 1Likert-type scale (1=least, 4=most) 2Likert-type scale (1=unsatisfactory, 9=superior) * p<0.05

  10. Results • “I’m sorry you are having so much pain.” • “Don’t be scared I will help you.” • “We will definitely do everything we can.” • “I understand and I can imagine it is very scary for you.”

  11. Results

  12. Conclusions • VP scenarios are a valid means of teaching and testing history–taking skills. • Nonverbal communication skills correlate with empathy ratings. • At this formative stage, VPs lack the fidelity of a student:SP interaction required to evaluate more complex communication skills such as nonverbal behaviors and empathy.

  13. Conclusions • Future technological improvements will enhance the level of student immersion and empathetic responses. • Virtual clinical scenarios may enhance existing SP programs and provide students a safe, controllable learning environment with the opportunity for repetitive practice.

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