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Table 1 MedGezel

From: Learning from the implementation of clinical empathy training: an explorative qualitative study in search of the barriers and facilitators

In the last few years, we created and tested a prototype of an educational intervention to teach medical clerks empathic behaviours by acting as a medical coach (a MedGezel), guiding a patient in obtaining a patient-centered doctor’s consultation. Our educational methodology is based on making medical clerks more aware of human relations. The program is made in a way to create learning conditions and an encouraging context to facilitate the innate empathic abilities of the individual clerks rather than trying to teach directly “how to be empathic”. We work from the idea that empathic behavior is consequence of a resignification of human relation without a predetermined format and that it’s not possible to create a mold from where medical clerks can be molded to become more “empathetic”. Empathic behaviour is a humanistic trait that each of us possesses to some degree. Which can be stimulated. Our educational and practical method can be turned into a lifelong practice where (future) doctors are engaged in real human connection. The clerks learn to find their authentic voice to communicate from their intuition and not in a “zombie”-like manner [7]. This new educational empathic health concept already won several national and international awards and nominations because of its promising value for future person-centered healthcare.

Because we started very small and outside an official research setting, we cannot provide the exact numbers, but the following approximate numbers are very close to the real data: more than 100 medical students selected from all the medical faculties in the Netherlands underwent a voluntarily training as medical coaches, and they guided approximately 100 patients during their care trajectory in several Dutch hospitals. Special emphasis was placed on compassionate interactions with the patients via deep listening and personal attention to the lives of the patients.

A coach empowers the intrinsic ability of people to take charge of their own wishes, needs and challenges [8], based on the understanding that people find their own answers to their personal challenges. To become a coach for others, one has to first look at one’s own beliefs, wishes and challenges [9]. Truly empathic behaviour is authentic and comes from a place of deep knowledge of oneself and the other. By stimulating awareness of one’s personal feelings and thoughts in relation to the other and practice an unfolding coaching conversation we shift the focus of external imposed behaviour to behavior directed by felt sense. As such, our medical coach training consists of two crucial components: getting to know oneself and getting to know the patient.

After the medical coach training, the MedGezel prototype of empowering patients consists of three stages: 1: before the consultation with the doctor, the medical students connect with the patients to discuss their personal wishes, needs and challenges. The medical students prepare the patients for the consultation by rehearsing the most important questions. 2: During the consultation with the medical specialist, the medical student acts as a patient advocate and buddy of the patient. 3: After the consultation, the medical student repeats the most prominent features of the conversation with the medical specialist and makes sure that everything is well understood by the patient. The medical student also makes sure that the feelings and concerns of the patient are met with dignity and respect.

As collateral gains of deploying a MedGezel, patients may feel better understood and better prepared for their appointments, which gives physicians more opportunities for patient-centered care.