Niki Viradia, MS; Jesica Miroslava Godinez Paredes, MS; Grace Tews, BA; Riley M. McCarty, BS; Katherine Loper, BS; Sanjay Bhandari, MD; Pinky Jha, MD, MPH
WMJ. 2026;125(1):134-137.
ABSTRACT
Background: Clinical empathy is a pillar of medical practice, with evidence demonstrating improved clinical outcomes and patient resilience when physician empathy is employed effectively. Despite its well-established value, studies indicate that empathy declines significantly during the third year of medical school.
Objective: To examine how medical students perceive the importance of empathy in patient care and to identify preferred methods for teaching empathy within the medical curriculum.
Methods: A survey was distributed to 456 third- and fourth-year medical students at the Medical College of Wisconsin during August and September 2018. The response rate was 39%. Chi-square analyses compared perceptions between genders and between year groups. Students who declined to identify gender were excluded from gender-based analyses.
Results: Fourth-year students were significantly more likely than third-year students to report that working with attending physicians increased their empathy (50% vs. 34.3%, P = .034). Female students were more likely than male students to believe that empathy improved patient outcomes (100% vs 89.2%, P = .003). Educational preferences also differed by gender.
Conclusions: Medical students recognize empathy as an essential aspect of clinical care. Clinical experiences, particularly interactions with attending physicians, may enhance empathy training, and gender-based differences in educational preferences highlight the need for diversified, learner-responsive instructional methods.