Linguistic analysis of empathy in medical school admission essays.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine whether words used in medical school admissions essays can predict physician empathy. METHODS: A computational form of linguistic analysis was used for the content analysis of medical school admissions essays. Words in medical school admissions essays were computationally grouped into 20 'topics' which were then correlated with scores on the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. The study sample included 1,805 matriculants (between 2008-2015) at a single medical college in the North East of the United States who wrote an admissions essay and completed the Jefferson Scale of Empathy at matriculation. RESULTS: After correcting for multiple comparisons and controlling for gender, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy scores significantly correlated with a linguistic topic (r = .074, p < .05). This topic was comprised of specific words used in essays such as "understanding," "compassion," "empathy," "feeling," and "trust." These words are related to themes emphasized in both theoretical writing and empirical studies on physician empathy. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that physician empathy can be predicted from medical school admission essays. The implications of this methodological capability, i.e. to quantitatively associate linguistic features or words with psychometric outcomes, bears on the future of medical education research and admissions. In particular, these findings suggest that those responsible for medical school admissions could identify more empathetic applicants based on the language of their application essays.

Enhancing Student Empathetic Engagement, History-Taking, and Communication Skills During Electronic Medical Record Use in Patient Care.

PURPOSE: To examine whether an intervention on proper use of electronic medical records (EMRs) in patient care could help improve medical students' empathic engagement, and to test the hypothesis that the training would reduce communication hurdles in clinical encounters. METHOD: Seventy third-year medical students from the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University were randomly divided into intervention and control groups during their six-week pediatric clerkship in 2012-2013. The intervention group received a one-hour training session on EMR-specific communication skills, including discussion of EMR use, the SALTED mnemonic and technique (Set-up, Ask, Listen, Type, Exceptions, Documentation), and role-plays. Both groups completed the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) at the clerkship's start and end. At clerkship's end, faculty and standardized patients (SPs) rated students' empathic engagement in SP encounters, using the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), and their history-taking and communication skills. RESULTS: Faculty mean ratings on the JSPPPE, history-taking skills, and communication skills were significantly higher for the intervention group than the control group. SP mean ratings on history-taking skills were significantly higher for the intervention group than the control group. Both groups' JSE mean scores increased pretest to posttest, but the changes were not significant. The intervention group's posttest JSE mean score was higher than the control group's, but the difference was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that a simple intervention providing specialized training in EMR-specific communication can improve medical students' empathic engagement in patient care, history-taking skills, and communication skills.

Master of public health community-based practicum: students' and preceptors' experiences.

CONTEXT: We studied students' perceptions regarding a required 120-hour practicum within a program including service learning and Problem-based Learning. Responses to pre- and postpracticum surveys and a second-year survey were analyzed for 2008 to 2010 graduates. Preceptors' responses regarding students' performance were also analyzed. OBJECTIVE: To assess attainment of public health competencies by analyzing student and preceptor identification of areas for improvement. DESIGN: Basis of study was a 29-item survey regarding competencies before/after practicum completion, and a 27-item postsurvey assessing perceptions of practicum, preceptor, and site. Instruments included a 5-point Likert Scale (1 = strongly disagree/highly ineffective to 5 = strongly agree/highly effective). SETTING: Practicum experiences are selected from more than 250 community-based partners including government, health systems & not-for-profit agencies. PARTICIPANTS: Three first-year student cohorts and preceptors surveyed. Response rates varied across cohorts and instruments. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Study focused on satisfaction scores and pre- and postsurvey response differences reported by respondents. RESULTS: Students reported high degrees of satisfaction & value in learning by doing, increased ability addressing real world problems, and commitment to working in the community. Preceptors reported satisfaction with students' competency and ability completing projects. CONCLUSION: Experiential learning in competency-based graduate public health education derived from Problem-based Learning and service learning shares commonalities and relevance with public health practice, illustrating how Problem-based Learning enhances students' ability becoming self-directed, collaborative, problem-solvers working with communities. Students' service learning ethos is manifested in value attributed to the practicum and community advocacy. Self-assessment of personal and professional development appears enhanced through the practicum experience.