Why might medical student empathy change throughout medical school? a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies

BACKGROUND: Several studies suggest that medical student empathy declines throughout medical school. However, no studies have synthesised the evidence regarding why empathy declines. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies investigating why student empathy may change throughout medical school. METHODS: We included any qualitative study that investigated why empathy might change during medical school. We searched the Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, ERIC, and APA PsycInfo databases for relevant studies. All databases were searched from their inception to 18 July 2022. We also searched the reference lists of the included studies and contacted experts to identify additional studies. We used the Joanna Briggs Institute tool to evaluate the risk of bias in the included studies. Overall confidence in our results was assessed using the Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research (CERQual) approach. We used thematic methods to synthesise our findings. RESULTS: Our searches yielded 2523 records, and 16 studies involving a total of 771 students were eligible for analysis. Most studies (n = 11) were from Europe or North America. The descriptive themes and sub-themes were identified for each study. Increased complexity in patients and their diseases, together with the ‘hidden curriculum’ (including a stressful workload, prioritisation of biomedical knowledge, and (sometimes) poor role models), led to student adaptations, such as cynicism and desensitisation. Students’ prior lives and professional experiences appeared to exacerbate the decline in empathy. However, there were bias concerns for most of the included studies. DISCUSSION: Many of the included studies included were small, and some did not include demographic participant data. Given the likely benefits of providing empathic care for patients and practitioners, medical education interventions should focus on developing an ‘empathic hidden curriculum’ that mitigates the decline in medical student empathy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: A protocol for this systematic review was submitted for registration with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) on 28 July 2022 (registration number CRD42022347856). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-023-04165-9.