Clinical empathy

[4] The 20-item questionnaire was originally developed for administration to medical students and physicians but has extended to dentistry and nursing because it is easy to interpret, administer, and analyze.

This contrasts the affective aspect of empathy which involves joining in the patient's emotional experiences and feelings, which correlates closer to sympathy.

[11] Developing the ability to understand a patient's thoughts and feelings lends itself to a successful medical interview and collaborative treatment.

[12] Practicing empathy in a clinical setting leads to greater patient satisfaction,[13] better compliance,[14] and fewer lawsuits.

[17] Students in medical school are taught clinical detachment as a protective mechanism for dealing with emotional experiences such as death and dying.

[20] Suppression and repression of emotions, intellectualization, and humor are mechanisms used to confront distressing situations in order to give an objective assessment.

[26] Medical students in a gross anatomy course may experience mixed emotions and variable reactions to cadaver dissection.

[31] Although eastern and western countries handle cadaver relationships differently, it can be generalized that gross anatomy courses offer an opportunity for students to examine their feelings on life, death, and dying.

Female students also have a greater likelihood than men to disagree with a need for detached concern in order to provide the best medical treatment.

[33] Several studies have indicated that clinical empathy may decline in students during medical school, with a change even being observed from the start to the end of first year.

[35] It seems that a "hidden curriculum" which includes a high workload, paucity of adequate role models, and lack of support can cause adaptations such as cynicism and detachment.

[40] Many methods have been put forward which aim to maintain the empathy of healthcare students and professionals with varying success.