Stories and perspective taking: Augmenting dental students’ understanding of patient care

Abstract

Introduction

Medical schools have reported on the integration of humanities, through literature, which offer diverse content and approaches that can be used to enhance patient care. The integration of humanities in dental education is a recent development. At the International Medical University (IMU) Malaysia, a literature module which focused on perspective taking activities was offered to the Bachelor of Dentistry program. We aimed to study if the module impacted dental students’ understanding of patient care.

Methods

Third-year undergraduate dental students were facilitated to discuss stories, engage in perspective taking activities and keep a portfolio for assessment in the Stories and Perspectives selective. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data in their portfolios.

Results

The dental students identified key learning points that would better prepare them for patient-centered care. Three themes emerged: (1) facilitate empathy in students, (2) stimulate self-awareness in students, and (3) motivate students to be perceptive communicators. Students were able to appreciate the complexities of care giving as it involved taking into account the thoughts and feelings of the other while recognizing their own mental state. They further valued the choice of appropriate words and actions in mediating this process.

Conclusion

The potential for incorporating humanities based approaches to teach patient care to dental students is favorable. Reading stories and extending this to perspective taking activities to induce creative ways to shift between experiences of self and other is a positive approach in preparing health professionals for care giving encounters.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Professor Raymond Frederick Peterson, Associate Professor, University of Adelaide, Australia, and Professor Ian Wilson, Director Learning and Teaching, University of Wollongong, Australia, for reviewing the article. The authors also thank the students who participated in the module.

The IMU supplement is sponsored and supported by IMU Education Sdn Bhd.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sheba D. Mani

Sheba D.Mani, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Language, Communication and Culture at the International Medical University, Malaysia. Her research interests relate to Asian literature, identity theories and medical humanities.

Nicole Lee Ping Chen

Nicole Lee Ping Chen, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine (Psychology), International Medical University. Her current research interests are in human resilience, psychological healing, trauma healing, and women's issues.

Velayudhan Menon

Velayudhan Menon, MD, is currently working as Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in IMU with a special interest in geriatric medicine. He is also interested in the use of narratives and script concordance techniques for training medical students.

Muneer Gohar Babar

Muneer Gohar Babar, BDS, MDSc, DHP&M, MPH, is currently working as an Associate Professor of Community Oral Health and Associate Dean at School of Dentistry, IMU. His research interest is empathy in health professions education.