CAN DISTANCE COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAINING INCREASE THE EMPATHY LEVELS IN MEDICAL STUDENTS? AN APPLICATION DURING THE PANDEMIC PERIOD

Purpose: The aim is to determine the effect of the communication skills training (CST) using interactive synchronous and asynchronous methods, which was applied for the first time on medical students' empathy levels.Methods: This study is a cross-sectional-analytical, self-controlled intervention. The distance CST program was applied to first-year medical students. The change in students' empathy levels was measured with the student version of the Jefferson Empathy Scale.Results: 241 students' forms were included. Empathy mean score increased significantly. It was observed that in general, the empathy levels of women were higher than men.Conclusion: The distance CST produced a positive effect on empathy levels. While interactive PowerPoint (R) presentations, videos, movie clips, cartoons, real-life examples, written/audio question-answer activities, surveys, feedback and, small group work were used in live lessons; in the asynchronous process, student-based techniques (self-assessment, homework, WhatsApp (R) sharing) were used to support the online learning climate. We believe that all of them support the cognitive and social existence of students throughout the training. We propose our program as a model that can beused during situations where face-to-face education is not possible and to support face-to-face education in medical education.