TY - JOUR
T1 - Does the hospitalization immersion experience improve medical students' understanding of patients' perspectives? A qualitative study
AU - Kikukawa, Makoto
AU - Taketomi, Kikuko
AU - Yoshida, Motofumi
N1 - Funding Information:
Makoto Kikukawa: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7903-6430; Kikuko Taketomi: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0295-2630; Motofumi Yoshida: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6544-8629 Acknowledgements: We thank the medical students who participated in this study. The authors also wish to thank all staff involved in Kyushu University Hospital. Funding: This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (grant no., JP17H04097). Conflicts of interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported. Author contributions: MK planned the study, collected the data and wrote the paper. KT analyzed and coded the data with MK. MK, KT, and YM discussed the results until consensus was reached.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Korean Journal of Medical Education. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - Purpose: Although many studies have assessed the impact of interventions to increase medical students' empathy by improving their understanding of patients' perspectives and feelings, the impact of hospitalization experiences remains unclear. Methods: Fifth-year medical students at Kyushu University from 2009-2013 participated in a 2-day/1-night course to provide a hospitalization experience. After the course, participants answered an online, anonymous, open-ended questionnaire created by the authors. Results: Of 488 participants, 462 provided responses (95% response rate), which were evaluated by thematic analysis. Students understood inpatients not only through their own hospitalization experience, but also through observations of and conversations with the inpatients they encountered, from a shared perspective of both. Students experienced the realities of hospital life, stress and psychological states of being an inpatient, and psychological pressure from physicians. In addition, students observed the distress of other inpatients and dedication of medical staff. Furthermore, through communication with these inpatients, students understood other inpatients' anxiety about illness and empathy as one of the requirements of health care providers from the patients' perspective. Conclusion: This qualitative study investigated the effectiveness of a course on the hospitalization experience. Results showed that medical students understood the perspectives, distress, and anxiety of being an inpatient, not only from their own experiences but also from observation and communication with other inpatients they encountered during their hospitalization. This experience appeared to be an effective teaching strategy for enhancing medical students' empathy by improving their understanding of patients' perspectives and feelings.
AB - Purpose: Although many studies have assessed the impact of interventions to increase medical students' empathy by improving their understanding of patients' perspectives and feelings, the impact of hospitalization experiences remains unclear. Methods: Fifth-year medical students at Kyushu University from 2009-2013 participated in a 2-day/1-night course to provide a hospitalization experience. After the course, participants answered an online, anonymous, open-ended questionnaire created by the authors. Results: Of 488 participants, 462 provided responses (95% response rate), which were evaluated by thematic analysis. Students understood inpatients not only through their own hospitalization experience, but also through observations of and conversations with the inpatients they encountered, from a shared perspective of both. Students experienced the realities of hospital life, stress and psychological states of being an inpatient, and psychological pressure from physicians. In addition, students observed the distress of other inpatients and dedication of medical staff. Furthermore, through communication with these inpatients, students understood other inpatients' anxiety about illness and empathy as one of the requirements of health care providers from the patients' perspective. Conclusion: This qualitative study investigated the effectiveness of a course on the hospitalization experience. Results showed that medical students understood the perspectives, distress, and anxiety of being an inpatient, not only from their own experiences but also from observation and communication with other inpatients they encountered during their hospitalization. This experience appeared to be an effective teaching strategy for enhancing medical students' empathy by improving their understanding of patients' perspectives and feelings.
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U2 - 10.3946/KJME.2021.191
DO - 10.3946/KJME.2021.191
M3 - Article
C2 - 34062641
AN - SCOPUS:85107392702
VL - 33
SP - 97
EP - 106
JO - Korean journal of medical education
JF - Korean journal of medical education
SN - 2005-727X
IS - 2
ER -