Role of a Semiotics-Based Curriculum in Empathy Enhancement: A Longitudinal Study in Three Dominican Medical Schools

[摘要] Background: Empathy in the context of patient care is defined as a predominantly cognitive attribute that involves an understanding of the patient’s experiences, concerns, and perspectives, combined with a capacity to communicate this understanding and an intention to help. In medical education, it is recognized that empathy can be improved by interventional approaches. In this sense, a semiotic-based curriculum could be an important didactic tool for improving medical empathy. The main purpose of this study was to determine if in medical schools where a semiotic-based curriculum is offered, the empathetic orientation of medical students improves as a consequence of the acquisition and development of students’ communication skills that are required in clinician–patient encounters.

[学科分类] 心理学（综合）

[关键词] communication;curriculum;medical empathy;Dominican Republic;medical semiotics