Decline of Empathy Among Healthcare Professionals

By Dr. Sumbul MBBS, MD

A few days ago, my mother sustained an accidental injury while working in the kitchen and needed sutures. I took her to a department in the same medical college where I am working as a Senior Resident. I assumed they would take good care of her since I was a resident there, but to my surprise, that wasn’t the case. Instead, I regretted every second we spent waiting. It took almost seven hours for a simple suturing procedure.

Not a single resident there acknowledged me or bothered to ask why I was sitting and waiting, just like any other patient. I waited patiently until it was finally our turn, and we got the suturing done. But the whole experience left me reflecting on the lack of empathy shown by the residents; it made me question how easily compassion can be overlooked, even within our medical community.

This experience, though personal, reflects a larger, troubling pattern in medical practice: the gradual erosion of empathy among healthcare professionals.

Empathy is a fundamental human trait. While empathy is a natural human capacity, it can become blunted over time if not consciously exercised, especially under chronic stress.

After the incident, I researched the topic and, surprisingly, found a large number of research articles available. It made me realize that if you don’t exercise empathy, or if you're constantly overwhelmed, it can weaken. But it’s still there.

Understanding Empathy in Healthcare

This led me to wonder—what causes this erosion of empathy, and can it be reversed?

Empathy is the ability to put oneself in another's emotional space and experience what they feel. ^[1]
Empathy helps us truly connect with others. It lets us feel what another person might be experiencing and respond with care and understanding. This emotional connection often inspires us to be more kind, supportive, and willing to help.

Being a healthcare professional requires this understanding more than anything else, making empathy a crucial component of patient care. Sadly, however, this is often not the case.

Causes Behind the Decline

According to a study, distress among healthcare providers, residents, and medical students is considered the main cause of the decline in empathy.^[2]
High levels of distress include burnout, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among resident physicians and students. This distress is exacerbated by the demanding nature of medical education and training, long working hours, and high-pressure settings. This could negatively affect the performance of residents and medical students, leading to compromised patient care, decreased empathy, and increased errors.

According to a discussion on MedBound Hub, most medical professionals believe that over exhaustion, rigid academic pressure, poor sleeping and eating patterns, lack of work-life balance, etc., contribute to the decline of empathy.

Can Empathy Be Taught?

Yes, empathy can be taught and nurtured with consistent practice and self-awareness.

• Incorporating patient storytelling in medical education to understand patients’ emotions

• Mindfulness training among healthcare providers

• Workshops on emotional intelligence

• Self-awareness training to reflect on your feelings and responses when interacting with patients

• Practicing the avoidance of biases and judgments when interacting with patients.

These practices should be incorporated during medical training and continued throughout life.

Conclusion

The decline of empathy has significantly impacted both patients and healthcare providers. The good news is that several measures, including self-awareness, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and thoughtful conversations on clinical empathy, can be used to stop and even reverse this decline. By integrating empathy training into medical education and institutional culture, we can begin to restore compassion to the heart of clinical care, where it belongs.

References

1. Subramaniam, T. S., P. S. Valuyeetham, and V. Kamaru Ambu. “Empathy amongst Doctors: An Observational Study.” Medical Journal of Malaysia 78, no. 3 (May 2023): 344–49. PMID: 37271844.

2. Razi, Muhammad O., R. Fouzia, and Muhammad S. Razzaque. “Decline of Empathy among Healthcare Apprentices.” International Medical Education 2, no. 4 (2023): 232–238. https://doi.org/10.3390/ime2040022.

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