Does narrative medicine education improve nursing students’ empathic abilities and academic achievement? A randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of a narrative medicine educational intervention on the empathic abilities and academic achievement of Chinese nursing students. METHODS: A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted between January 2015 and July 2017. Six class clusters (two controls, four interventions) comprising 180 nursing students were included in this trial. After pre-tests to obtain baseline measurements, two control classes (Group 1) attended regular medical education courses, two intervention classes (Group 2) received theoretical narrative medicine education for 1 term, and two intervention classes (Group 3) received narrative medicine education that integrated theory with practice for 2 terms. The empathic ability and academic achievement of the groups were compared, and longitudinal changes in empathic ability were measured. RESULTS: Students in Group 3 showed higher empathic ability and academic achievement than students in Group 1. Empathic ability was measured at six time points and showed between-group differences. The empathy scores of students in Group 3 increased abruptly after the two-term intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Narrative medicine education that combines theory with practice is an effective strategy for improving nursing students’ empathic ability and academic achievement.