Qualitative insights into empathy in medical education: perspectives from students, doctors, and educators

This study's core findings from cross-group analysis of medical students, doctors, and teachers show empathy in medical education is complex and multi-dimensional, involving emotional and cognitive empathy. Empathy abilities change dynamically during medical education, with students initially having high emotional empathy and later developing stronger cognitive empathy. Cultural differences in empathy, like between Western and traditional Chinese medicine, offer new perspectives. Practical implications include: designing curricula to cover both empathy types and adding cross-cultural content; using diverse teaching methods and optimizing clinical internships; organizing teacher training and improving teaching skills; establishing a comprehensive evaluation system with timely feedback. These insights and suggestions guide enhancing empathy in medical education.