Improving Empathy and Relational Skills

NCT ID: NCT01304030

Last Updated: 2011-02-25

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 99 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2010-02-28
• Study Completion Date: 2010-12-31

Brief Summary

Our research hypothesis is that residents who participate in the empathy and relational skills training modules will significantly improve in these skills as compared to a control group of residents who receive residency training as usual that includes the current standard training in the doctor-patient relationship. To evaluate this hypothesis, we will use a two-pronged approach to assessment. The first prong is the residents' self assessment of empathy and the second is from the patients' perspective.

Detailed Description

The study design is a randomized controlled trial assigning resident physicians (N=100) to either: (a) empathy and relational skills training; or (b) control group receiving standard residency training as usual. Over the course of six weeks, each resident physician in the experimental group will receive three 60-minute training sessions focused on empathy and relational skills (the residents assigned to the control condition will receive standard residency training as usual). The emerging neuroscience of emotions and empathy has provided the neurobiological and physiological bases for our Empathy Training Modules to enhance patient-doctor communication. These innovative modules provide the basic science and video modeling for empathy training. Based on cutting edge mirror neuron research, our training modules offer a novel approach to empathy and relational skills training that teaches physicians about the neurobiology and physiology of emotions in difficult or stressful patient interactions. We have developed professionally produced high definition training modules that portray difficult patient-physician interactions. Importantly, these videos also include physiological displays of emotion for both members of the dyad so that one can easily observe the degree to which patient and physician are physiologically concordant or discordant with one another. The empathy training is conducted at a deeper level of physiological awareness and regulation that promises to be more effective than traditional didactic teaching by integrating the technology of psychophysiology. The goal of raising awareness of physiologic indices during a patient-doctor interaction is to present an objective measure of emotional response to both explicit and implicit stimuli, which promises to be a powerful teaching tool to enhance empathic physician behaviors.

Conditions

Empathy

Keywords

Empathy

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Experimental Group

The experimental group receives Empathy Training. The control Group receives residency training as usual

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Empathy Training Modules

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The Empathy Training Modules utilize translational research in emotion expression basic science, physiology of emotions, decoding facial expressions and self-regulation skills as pertaining to management of medical and surgical patients.

Control Group

The control group receives residency training as usual

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Residency Training as usual

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Residents will receive their typical didactic and clinical education

Interventions

Empathy Training Modules

The Empathy Training Modules utilize translational research in emotion expression basic science, physiology of emotions, decoding facial expressions and self-regulation skills as pertaining to management of medical and surgical patients.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Residency Training as usual

Residents will receive their typical didactic and clinical education

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

E.M.P.A.T.H.Y. (TM); Residency Training

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

All medical and surgical residents who are based at Massachusetts General Hospital will be eligible to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria

Residents who are rotating at sites other then Massachusetts General Hospital Residents who are on rotations that do not include clinical care

• Minimum Eligible Age: 20 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 60 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Massachusetts General Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Massachusetts General Hospital

Principal Investigators

Helen Riess, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Massachusetts General Hospital

Locations

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Countries

United States

References

Riess H. Empathy in medicine--a neurobiological perspective. JAMA. 2010 Oct 13;304(14):1604-5. doi: 10.1001/jama.2010.1455. No abstract available.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 20940387 (View on PubMed)

Riess H, Kelley JM, Bailey R, Konowitz PM, Gray ST. Improving empathy and relational skills in otolaryngology residents: a pilot study. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2011 Jan;144(1):120-2. doi: 10.1177/0194599810390897.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 21493400 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

P001599

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

2009P001599

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id