Abstract Details

Title Listening to Heal: The Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury Support Group Participation on Medical Student Empathy and Understanding

Topic ��ɫ��, Research, and Methodology

Presentation(s) P4 - Poster Session 4 (8:00 AM-9:00 AM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 15-017

Objective

To evaluate how participation in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) support group followed by a reflective exercise impacts medical students.

Background Research consistently shows that patients with TBI frequently feel unsupported and unheard by their healthcare providers. Likewise, patients and their families often feel underprepared during transition periods after TBI.¹ Incorporating narrative medicine in undergraduate medical education offers an effective approach to fostering stronger patient-provider relationships among future clinicians. This is because narrative medicine promotes both personal and professional growth in medical students by enhancing their observational skills, deepening empathy, and encouraging exploration of personal identity.^2-5 We present a model for integrating narrative medicine into clinical neurology training by involving medical students in TBI support groups to enhance physician empathy and understanding of TBI.

Design/Methods Third- and fourth-year medical students completing their neurology clerkship or advanced neurology electives at a single site were invited to participate in a monthly TBI support group, where they assisted in facilitating discussions. Anonymous and optional pre- and post-session surveys were administered to encourage students to reflect on their experiences.

Results To date, a total of 14 students have completed the pre-session survey and 8 have completed the post-session survey. After participation in the support group, there was a significant increase in students’ perception that support groups help patients feel connected (p = 0.028), and a non-significant, yet important increase in viewing support groups as effective patient care (p = 0.115). All students indicated the experience would impact their future practice.

Conclusions Student participation in a TBI support group impacted their perception on connectedness to their patients, which is an important component of empathy. These findings suggest that integrating student-facilitated support groups can foster personal and professional growth, ultimately improving patient care and the patient-provider relationship.

Authors/Disclosures
Jenny Yang, MD PRESENTER	Miss Yang has nothing to disclose.
Audrey Huang	Miss Huang has nothing to disclose.
Harli Weber, MD	Ms. Weber has nothing to disclose.
Michelle You	Ms. You has nothing to disclose.
Mill Etienne, MD, MPH, FAAN	Dr. Etienne has nothing to disclose.

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