What is empathy in medicine and how can you develop and demonstrate it?
Empathy is an essential quality for any doctor. It is a key skill that medical schools look for in applicants during your medical school interview. Empathy is also assessed in the Situational Judgement Test of the UCAT ANZ.
Remember: the ability to empathise is like a muscle, and the main question you should ask isn’t ‘do I have the empathy to be a doctor?', but ‘can I develop the empathy to be a doctor?’
To assess your current ability to empathise, take the test below and try our real-life scenarios. These are similar to the questions in medical school interviews.
Many people confuse empathy with sympathy. To empathise with someone, you need to depart from your own worldview, whereas sympathy is feeling sorry for someone and is rooted in your own worldview.
Empathy is an essential life skill, and is only possible because humans have an incredible ability to adopt someone else’s perspective.
This is often referred to as ‘walking a mile in someone else’s shoes’, but perhaps the everydayness of that cliché makes us forget how incredible it is to empathise with someone.
There are two types of empathetic behaviour. One is ‘emotional empathy’, the other ‘cognitive empathy’.
For a medical professional, feeling someone else’s emotions - or emotional empathy - is not always productive. Cognitive empathy is the goal, as it allows you to relate to that person on a professional level and improve their outcomes.
EQ is similar to your IQ (intelligence quotient), but for emotions. Your success in life is often connected to your EQ, because so much of our good fortune is dictated by other people.
If you can understand what others are thinking (i.e. empathise with someone) and know just the right word to say, you are likely to get positive feedback.
Before even becoming a medical student, universities will have tested your empathy in various ways.
Empathy is an essential skill to pass the UCAT ANZ, required by many direct entry medical programmes.
The SJT section of the UCAT ANZ asks you to select an appropriate response to tricky medical situations.
Try the example below.
Understanding how the patient might be feeling is essential, and if we consider that we have a duty of care as healthcare professionals, the answer becomes much clearer.
You guessed it, apologising is ‘very appropriate’.
We go into far more detail in the Empathy Interview Questions & Answers section below.
If you are irritating someone by speaking about a certain topic, do you notice?
If a friend is unusually quiet would you?
I often drift off while someone is talking to me.
If a colleague or friend got a huge promotion, I’d be most likely to feel:
When someone is talking about their achievements are you most likely to:
When you read fiction, do you:
Which of these descriptions applies to you?
If you answered ‘1’, you get 1 point, and ‘3’ gets 3 points etc.
Count all your points for the 7 questions above.
7 - 9 points: You are likely to have an exceptional ability to empathise.
10 - 15 points: You are empathetic, but could still improve your skills.
16 - 21 points: You might need to develop your empathy skills. Read on to see how.
In the second part of our test, try and answer some questions to see if you can demonstrate empathy in the correct way.
You are a GP sitting beside a patient who is deeply anxious about a condition she thinks she has. So far the tests have not indicated that anything is wrong, but the patient is demanding answers. How would you deal with this?
a) Listen carefully and actively : Why is she concerned about this problem? Could there be any underlying issues such as psychological distress?
b) Read the situation: You may know that the patient isn't likely to have this condition. The problem is that telling her might not help. You have to do more than just give informed opinions, you have to deal with the person in front of you.
c) Understand patient expectations: What does the patient imagine she will get from you? Does she want to know more about the illness, or does she want reassurance that it won't be that bad?
d) Repeat: Relay what the patient has said back to her to check you've understood. This gives her a chance to evaluate her thoughts again.
e) Advise and reassure: The patient will be more likely to follow your advice if she feels she’s been listened to. Now you can give your opinion and reassure the patient that many others share these anxieties about health and that no conclusions should be taken without testing.
How would you communicate to a patient that he had been given the wrong test results? This mistake led him to incorrect conclusions about his health, and now the test has to be repeated.
a) Listen carefully and actively. The first step is always listening to what the patient has to say, otherwise it is impossible to address their feelings.
b) Explain clearly. The patient needs to know what has happened. Indirect language or euphemism will not help this.
c) Apologise. Even when something is not your fault, do not assign blame or try to explain a mistake away, apologise in simple and direct language.
d) Show understanding. Say something like 'I realise you must be feeling very frustrated by this situation. You may also be worried about the privacy of your test results.'
e) Reassure. As far as possible, try to reassure the patient about any concerns they may have. Explain what actions will be taken to limit any further problems.
You were convinced that a patient had a simple case of traveller’s stomach upset, due to negative test results, even when she maintained that she had a chronic irritable bowel disorder (IBD). The patient pushed for retesting, whereupon it became clear that she was right about the illness. How should you respond?
a) Listen carefully and actively: work out exactly how the patient is feeling. Is she blaming you, or is she just frustrated by the situation. What does she think her best option for moving forward is?
b) Use inclusive language: If you talk about what ‘we’ can do, it gives the sense of a team moving forward together. ‘You’ says ‘you’re in this alone’. The c) patient may already be lacking trust due to the misdiagnosis. Using the right language can start to repair things.
c) Ask how the patient feels about the diagnosis: If they are devastated, try some kind words that let the patient know there are options for treatment and that other people are going through the same thing.
d) Eye contact: Even if you feel embarrassed by your error, maintaining eye contact shows that you aren’t hiding away from the situation.
e) Advise: Walk the patient through possible treatment paths they can go down. Check at each stage how they feel about the options, without judgement.
Trying to explain away the fact that you didn’t diagnose her illness.
Jumping into explanations or plans for treatment without addressing the patient’s feelings.
Do you ever find yourself planning your next sentence when someone is talking?
What if you didn’t say what you planned?
Better yet, what if you didn’t say it and devoted all that brain power to really listening. I don’t mean listening and nodding and giving an emphatic ‘yes’ like a politician. I mean absorbing the hundreds of verbal and non-verbal cues that people give.
Active listening is when you occasionally paraphrase what someone has said and use affirmatory body language to show them that you are actually taking in what they’re saying.
You normally don’t need to think too much about active listening though. Fortunately, there’s a trick: actually listening.
It is almost impossible not to listen actively when you are fully concentrating. Like empathy, the ability to listen is a muscle, so don’t worry if you don’t get it straight away.
Empathy has an unfortunate connection with negative events. Sharing the great things that happen to other people is equally important. Try and be the sort of person who celebrates the victories of others, even if you don’t feel it at first.
The central skill is sharing emotion, not any specific type of emotion. When you observe people and really listen, finding common ground and sharing positives will come more naturally.
Literature has many benefits when it comes to empathy.
You only have one life and one set of experiences. By reading you can imagine yourself in many more situations than you’ll ever encounter.
Yes, movies work too, but they don’t take weeks to slowly absorb and they can’t go as deep into characters and their inner thoughts and desires. Films are consumed passively, whereas reading is an active process forcing you to create a reality.
According to one study into empathy in medical students, female medical students scored significantly higher on the JSPE-S (a formalised empathy grading system) than male medical students.
This difference between genders was seen throughout the undergraduate medical programme, in years 1-5.
Reading interest was the question which saw the largest gender gap, specifically: ‘I do not enjoy reading non-medical literature or the arts’.
People can have different levels of empathy at different points in their lives. It may be that you are worried about your current situation and that distracts you from thinking about other people's emotions. It could also be that it does not come as naturally to you as some other people.
Not particularly. Empathy is a muscle, you just need to work it out. Remembering to observe and listen carefully is the main challenge.
Some doctors do not show empathy. We’ve all experienced this. Medical professionals are notoriously overworked, and some maintain that they just don’t have time.
One of the main arguments is that doctors would burn out if they empathised with every patient they treated. This is known as ‘compassion fatigue’. In fact, empathy is thought to decline through medical school as doctors put up barriers to protect themselves from the stress.
However, getting ‘compassion fatigue’ is not a fair excuse. This type of exhaustion results from feeling someone’s emotions, or ‘affective empathy’. Giving someone the time to be heard and showing understanding is a more distant form of empathy, and is absolutely central to healthcare and the patient experience.
We are emotional beings, and these feelings are measured out by our experiences with those around us. If a patient feels like they are on a conveyor belt, not only do they feel sad, but their health outcomes suffer.
You need to reframe the question.
Asking if you already have enough empathy shows a fixed mindset. You need to ask if you can develop the empathy.
A large part of this is the value you place on learning how to be more empathetic. If we compare it to being polite:
Sometimes showing empathy will be a massive strain and something you don’t want to do, but like manners, we can programme ourselves to respond to people in an empathetic way.
Active listening is a habit.
Reading body language is a habit.
Not planning your next sentence when someone is speaking is a habit.
The UCAT ANZ test is notoriously difficult to succeed in. It is designed to differentiate students who get a high ATAR score.
Without being used to the test, you are likely to come unstuck.
Whether it’s how to demonstrate empathy in your interview or in the SJT, we have free guides for medical applications, as well as a paid UCAT ANZ course.
We keep our prices low to widen access to medical school, as we believe it shouldn’t be just the privileged who get the opportunity to study medicine or dentistry.
2 in 3 students prepared for the UCAT with Medify, so feel free to check out what people are saying about us online.
Keep practising! A month sounds like a long time, but time will quickly vanish. Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) goals such as reaching a certain score by a certain date or time.
Niche down even further on your weaknesses – by this stage you should just be focusing on what you find hardest. Make sure you factor in breaks and days off into your schedule, as well as any important events which you need to attend.
Read the 'Good medical practice' by the Medical Board of Australia if you haven’t already. It will inform you about the different duties of healthcare professionals and how they should respond to different scenarios, which is essential for the Situational Judgement Test section of the UCAT.
Try Medify's Skills Trainers, such as inference scanning for Verbal Reasoning, to maximise your score (these are included in our UCAT ANZ Online Course). Make sure you've also completed plenty of UCAT practice tests.
The UCAT exam is two hours with no breaks in between, so practise at least two hours each time to build your mental stamina. You should also simulate the exam environment as closely as possible – this means treating every mock test as if it were a real one.
For instance, you should sit mock exams at the same time of the day as your actual UCAT exam and ensure there are no distractions. By mirroring the test conditions, not only will it prepare you for what to expect on test day, it should also help to decrease any anxiety leading up to the exam. Otherwise, your brain has to process the ‘new’ way of completing the test.
At this point, you'll know the format of the exam inside out and will have practised the questions enough times to get used to UCAT timings. Don’t give up – keep preparing in an environment where you cannot be interrupted.
Remember, a lot of your preparation will have been done in the weeks and months before this final week, so be careful not to overdo it and become too fatigued. Your motivation may drop or you might ‘peak’ before the test. Your body needs rest too.
Now is a great time to introduce or increase self-care in your regime. Whether it’s watching Netflix, gaming, or just running a bath, it’s important to detach yourself from UCAT revision from time to time to avoid the risk of burnout.
In this week you should also prioritise your nutrition and sleep. Eat well, do not miss meals and keep hydrated. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep in the days before the test by avoiding late night cramming or staying awake into the early hours.
If it puts your mind at rest, you can check last year’s UCAT scores, but remember that this is all about your personal journey and performance, so don't get hung up on that information!
We do not advise doing a mock this close to the exam. Revision won't help you much at this stage and can actually leave you worse off. Instead, use this time to wind down and get yourself into a relaxed state. This will enable you to perform at your best on test day.
Try to get to bed early and avoid things that can affect sleep, such as looking at your phone before bed. If you think that you will struggle to sleep on time, you could try doing some exercise during the day to tire yourself out.
Exercise can boost your brainpower by oxygenating your brain, helping you learn and aid sleep. Plus, activity makes your body release endorphins, which can reduce anxiety and stress levels.
Make sure you double check your UCAT test centre information, the travel route to the test centre, the time of your UCAT exam, and so on, so you’re well prepared for test day. If someone else is giving you a ride to the test centre, it’s worth reminding them.
You should start the day off with a nutritious breakfast and give yourself enough time to arrive early to the test centre to avoid feeling flustered, rushed or stressed.
Remember that buses and trains can be late and that traffic may be heavier than you had hoped, so allow extra time whichever way you are travelling. Find out how to choose a UCAT test centre.
Make sure you know how to get to the test centre – for instance you could consider taking a map with you. If you’re using your phone for directions, make sure it’s sufficiently charged and that you have spare data (otherwise you can download the map ahead of time to use offline).
On test day you will be expected to arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled test time to complete the check-in process.
You need to bring:
When you arrive at the test centre, it’s likely that you’ll be experiencing a heightened sense of adrenaline. his is completely normal, but it could be helpful to learn some strategies for adopting a winning mindset on test day to reduce your stress levels, and enable you to perform at your best. For instance, you could focus on your breathing to help you relax.
Don’t forget, during your test there are one minute introductions between each subtest. You can skip these, but we recommend using the time to mentally refresh yourself.
If you’ve stuck to your revision plan, and followed our advice above, the best thing you can do on test day is to try and keep as calm as possible. Take solace in the fact that you have prepared for weeks/months to get to this point, and channel any nervous energy into doing the best you can during your UCAT test.
You should think about your diet well ahead of UCAT test day. Focus on foods that release energy slowly (that is, which have a low glycaemic index, or GI) which will stop you from feeling hungry. These are ideal for UCAT preparation, as well as on test day itself.
Try eating protein and low-GI carbohydrates, such as meat or baked beans, brown (whole grain) rice or pasta, or wholegrain breakfast cereals or muesli. However, do not stray far from your usual diet on the day of the test in case you feel sick. You may want to try these foods out at the same time of day a few weeks in advance.
Be wary of energy drinks and coffee. If you’re not used to them then don’t drink them, especially in large quantities. Caffeine can acutely increase anxiety, and the sugar rush of an energy drink is soon followed by insulin slamming on the brakes, leaving you feeling worse than before. These products are no substitute for a good night’s sleep, eating properly and exercising.
No food or drink is allowed in the test room so eat a healthy meal before your UCAT test and ensure you’re hydrated. While you should make sure you’re drinking enough water, do not overdo it, otherwise you might need the toilet while the timer is ticking.
Please note, access arrangements are available if you have a disability, learning difficulty or long-term medical condition. You may be entitled to extra time and/or rest breaks, and allowed certain items, such as water, at your test centre workstation.
This image shows a typical UCAT test environment:
There is no audio element to the test, but you can request earplugs to block out any noise that might disrupt your concentration.
You will have access to a basic onscreen calculator which may be useful for the Quantitative Reasoning and Decision Making sections.
You will be given a laminated notebook and marker pen. Consider using these for:
If you require an additional notebook and pen, you can raise your hand and ask the invigilator. Although the invigilator will check that your pen is working before the test, we advise double-checking this to avoid seeking assistance during the test.
Do you need help preparing for the UCAT ANZ? Head over to our UCAT ANZ Online Course and we’ll get you signed up to guide you through the whole process.
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