Gaining Empathy for the Learner: A Way to Identify Unique Themes and Patterns in Medical Student Experiences

Abstract A variety of program evaluation tools are used in medical education, including grade-based, narrative, and quantitative methods. While providing valuable feedback, they may not fully capture the lived experiences of the learner. To enhance understanding and empathy for the medical school experience, we conducted ethnographic interviews of learners across all years of training. Emergent themes were compared with feedback from traditional instruments. Our empathetic methods not only confirmed themes identified through conventional evaluations but also revealed additional factors that heavily impacted learners. This highlights the need for empathic, human-centered approaches to generate a holistic picture that better informs programmatic change.