Cultivating Empathy through Visual Thinking Strategy Workshops for Medical Students and Residents: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS) has been introduced in health professions education as a method for enhancing observational skills, empathy, and communication through group dialogue around artworks. This study explored how VTS workshops might cultivate empathy and related competencies among Japanese medical students and residents. Six participants (three medical students and three family medicine residents) attended eight workshops facilitated by a trained VTS instructor between November and December 2021. Sessions were held four times online and four times in person, using artworks and public sculptures as stimuli. Empathy was assessed before and after the series using the Japanese versions of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Participants’ reflective writings were analyzed thematically. Quantitatively, mean IRI scores increased from 94.0 to 99.3 (Cohen’s d = 0.37), and mean JSE scores increased from 109.3 to 111.7 (Cohen’s d = 0.20). Qualitative analysis revealed six thematic categories: clinical observation, empathy/perspective-taking, communication, cultural sensitivity, tolerance for diversity, and self-awareness. These findings suggest that VTS-based workshops may enhance empathy through perspective-taking, tolerance of diverse interpretations, and reflection on one’s own biases. Incorporating art-based dialogue in medical education could complement conventional communication training by promoting humanistic awareness in future physicians.