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The decline in medical student empathy: a student's perspective
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http://hdl.handle.net/1860/3452
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| Title: | The decline in medical student empathy: a student's perspective |
| Authors: | Ostermayer, Daniel G. |
| Issue Date: | 14-Apr-2011 |
| Abstract: | As students progress through medical school the level of empathy they entered with declines during the four years of education. Multiple explanations for the decline have been set forth in the literature such as the stressful medical curriculum, transmission of attitudes from upper level residents, and the displaced professional identity of students. I analyze the empathetic decline through the lens of a third year medical student in order to demonstrate how the challenges of developing a professional identity contribute to the empathetic loss. The decline correlates to a pursuit of self-advancement in a professional sense. I propose that in the end, this decline exists as a logical outcome from the professional expectations that medical students, faculty, and institutions place on graduating seniors. Shifting an understanding of the self away from the purely Western to a more traditionally Eastern view can help reduce the decline. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1860/3452 |
| Appears in Collections: | Student Research and Publications
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