O desenvolvimento da empatia em estudantes de medicina: uma oficina como proposta de ensino

Abstract

The doctor-patient relationship is a fundamental element in medicine and provides better adherence to treatment, better clinical outcomes and greater patient satisfaction. The ability to communicate and understand the other in different ways, perceive their needs and predict people's reactions, contributes to the success of this relationship. Empathy emerges as an important instrument for the construction of this bond, having been listed as a primordial element, impacting the health of the patient and the professional. This study aimed to know the level of empathy in medical students, from the assessment of patients and the self-assessment of students, through the application of the Jefferson Scale in two versions, for students and patients, and develop a workshop for teaching the empathy. The results obtained that in the students' self-assessment the general average of the total score reached a good score. Even so, the overall score attributed by the patients was higher than the result of the self-assessment carried out by the students, that is, correct empathy for the students reached a lower mean and a lower proportion when compared to the results of the patients. There was no statistically significant relationship between the dimensions of empathy and the sociodemographic variables, although the findings raised interesting questions. As an example, a perspective taking showing an increase in the more advanced semesters, while a dimension capable of putting itself in the patient's shoes, was more evident in the initial semesters. This indicates the need for new and ongoing research on empathy, especially on empathic dimensions and their possible correlations with variables that influence empathic behavior. The workshop proposed in this study, as a product, is intended to serve as an instrument for teaching empathy, using active methodologies, to be routinely performed during the student's course at the academy. An exercise, practical experience lived realistically.