Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships, empathy and patient centredness: A prospective cohort study

Ethical erosion literature describes medical students’ patient centredness and empathy declines through their clinical years of training. Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships (LICs), an alternate clinical educational design, have been hypothesised to reduce ethical erosion. The authors aimed to measure change in medical students’ patient centredness and empathy at an institution with the largest LIC worldwide.
Two whole LIC cohorts (LIC1 and LIC2) were invited to complete a questionnaire, which included patient centredness and empathy scales. Students completed the questionnaire at the start and end of each academic year. Block-rotation students (Non-LIC) were a comparator cohort. Complete cases data were analysed.
22 Non-LIC, 66 LIC1 and 33 LIC2 students responded. Non-LIC students experienced a significant decline in empathy ([start] 113.14 vs. [end] 102.68, p<.001). Empathy did not significantly decline in the LIC cohorts. Patient centredness in LIC1 and LIC2 grew and reduced in the Non-LIC cohort, however, these changes were not statistically significant.
This study supports the hypothesis LICs may reduce ethical erosion when compared to block-rotation placements. The results provide evidence that ethical erosion occurs in students who have completed block-rotation placements. This is the first study of UK-based medical students measuring empathy and patient centredness following completion of an LIC.