Can Training in Empathetic Validation Improve Medical Students' Communication with Patients Suffering Pain? A Test of Concept

Introduction: Patient-centered, empathetic communication has been recommended as a means for improving the health care of patients suffering pain. However, a problem has been training health care providers since programs may be time-consuming and difficult to learn. Validation, a form of empathetic response that communicates that what a patient experiences is accepted as true, has been suggested as an appropriate method for improving communication with patients suffering pain.Objectives: We study the immediate effects of providing medical students with a 2-session (45-minute duration each) program in validation skills on communication.Methods: A one group, pretest vs posttest design was employed with 22 volunteer medical students. To control patient variables, actors simulated 1 of 2 patient scenarios (randomly provided at pretest and posttest). Video recordings were blindly evaluated. Self-ratings of validation and satisfaction were also employed.Results: Observed validation responses increased significantly after training and corresponded to significant reductions in invalidating responses. Both the patient simulators and the medical students were significantly more satisfied after the training.Conclusions: We demonstrated that training empathetic validation results in improved communication thus extending previous findings to a medical setting with patients suffering pain. Our results suggest that it would be feasible to provide validation training for health care providers and this warrants further investigation in controlled studies.