Identification of Effective Factors on Formation of clinical Empathy Hidden Curriculum of Residents in Medical Universities

Clinical empathy is a essential skill in medical profession, ability to understand the patient's perspectives and experiences and convey this understanding to the patient. aspects of education such as transferring behaviors, norms and values in the form of hidden curriculum work better than explicit. Hidden curriculum factors affect the formation of clinical empathy that is implicitly and unintentionally transmitted throughstructures, culture and organizational interaction. Thus, the main goal of this study is to determine the influencing factors on the formation of the hidden curriculum of empathy of residents of medical universities.

This qualitative study was conducted based on grounded theory. The participants include the third- year assistants of the internal medicine department of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, whose selection method was a purposive and theoretical. In total, semi- structured interviews were conducted with 22 assistants,. Interviews were analyzed using Corbin and Strauss coding methods (open, selective and axial) which were identified. To ensure reliability and validity, criteria: acceptability, transferability, reliability, and verifiability were used.

Findings indicate that the total number of free codes extracted from the content of the interviews was 73, which after merging similar codes with each other, classified in 9 similar concepts and finally in 4 the main themes were categorized. Results show that effective components on the formation of the hidden curriculum of empathy of residents included components of Skills needed by assistants (educational skills and basic skills), components of individual characteristics (psycho- personality and lifestyle), support factors including (material support and spiritual support) and the issues of organizational include (working environment of hospitals and clinics, job satisfaction and the structure of the educational system).

According to the results of the current research, for the formation of clinical empathy in the competent assistants, it is necessary for universities of medical sciences to carry out formal evaluation of clinical empathy, comply with international standards, provide Sufficient comfort facilities take steps to prevent job dissatisfaction and job burnout, create positive and supportive relationships, so the findings of this research can be helpful in the field of clinical empathy formation in assistants