The medical student as patient navigator as an approach to teaching empathy.
BACKGROUND
When empathy was presented in a lecture, medical students did not appreciate the topic or have opportunities to practice empathic techniques. The Patient Navigator Project was designed to foster understanding of a patient's experiences and encourage empathic communication.


METHODS
The project uses experiential learning in an outpatient setting in the first year of training. Each student was to "shadow" a patient during a visit to a surgical oncologist and could observe the patient throughout treatment. Patient consent was obtained. Assignments were made before the appointments. Afterward, students met in small groups to reflect on their experiences.


RESULTS
Patients were willing to let medical students observe their care. Most students reported a positive learning experience and that they learned to see patients as people, not as numbers or diseases.


CONCLUSIONS
Requiring individualized patient-centered activities in the preclinical curriculum is challenging owing to the large number of students and the unpredictable nature of patients.
Henry-Tillman
Ronda
R
Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham, Slot 725, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
Deloney
Linda A
LA
Savidge
Mildred
M
Graham
C James
CJ
Klimberg
V Suzanne
VS
D000328:Adult; D003479:Curriculum; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006808:Humanism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D016730:Program Development; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*