Narrative Medicine to Affect Empathy in Medication Counselling – A Pre-Post Intervention Study of a Course in Narrative Medicine for Pharmacists

Abstract Background Narrative medicine is a recent cross-disciplinary approach aiming to encourage empathy, reflection, professionalism, and trustworthiness through aesthetic activities such a reading fiction and creative writing. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate if a post-graduate course in narrative medicine affects the level of empathy among pharmacists. Method During 2020–2021, three courses in narrative medicine were evaluated in Odense, Denmark. The primary outcome was the pharmacists’ self-reported level of empathy measured with Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE). Results A total of 33 community and hospital pharmacists participated in the three courses. The pharmacists’ median age was 41 years, 91% were female, 76% were working at community pharmacy, and 47% were, according to themselves, rare readers. A statistically significant increase was found in mean total JSE score from 109.9 +/- 17.1 before the course to 115.7 +/- 14.6 after the course (p = 0.0362). Conclusion Following the course in narrative medicine the level of empathy for the pharmacists according to JSE was enhanced. We recommend that future studies also use patient-reported outcomes to explore if the self-experienced enhanced empathy among pharmacists reaches the patients’ confidence and well-being.