Barret Michalec

Defined broadly, empathy refers to both the sharing of emotions between individuals and the adopting of another’s point of view [1] and is widely regarded as a key element of high-quality clinical ...

Humility is increasingly recognized as a vital element of medical professionalism, yet little is known about how medical students perceive and enact it during their formative training years. This cross-sectional study explores US medical students' (n = 104) understandings and experiences across four years of medical education. Quantitative analyses, drawing on the Honesty-Humility subscale of the Honesty-Humility (H), Emotionality (E), Extroversion (X), Agreeableness (A), Conscientiousness (C), Openness to Experience (0) Personality Inventory Revised (HEXACO-PI-R), revealed no significant differences in humility by year, gender, or race/ethnicity. Qualitative analyses of survey narratives, however, highlighted three interrelated themes: (1) humility is learned primarily through informal mechanisms such as role modeling, patient encounters, and reflection rather than through formal curricula; (2) humility is seen as essential for fostering teamwork, collaboration, and trust among peers, colleagues, and patients; and (3) students grapple with balancing humility and projecting confidence, especially in clinical contexts where they feel patients' trust depends on perceived competence. Findings suggest that humility in medical education is not simply a personal disposition but a relational and cultural practice shaped by organizational norms, hidden curricula, and professional identity formation. Embedding humility-supportive practices into mentorship, feedback, and team-based learning environments may help normalize humility as a valued dimension of professionalism and enhance the cultivation of reflective, collaborative physicians.

Introduction: Emotional contagion (EC) involves the automatic mimicry and synchronization of expressions, vocalizations, and movements, resulting in emotional alignment between individuals. Despite consistent scholastic explorations of the various nuances and tenets associated with emotional contagion processes and outcomes, there has yet to be a thorough review of human subjects-based emotional contagion research.Methods: This review examines human subjects EC research trends, analyzing 277 articles (published from 1992 to 2022) to identify common conceptualizations, triggers, and measurement methods.Results: Analyses indicated that Hatfield et al.’s classic conceptualization is the most cited, and common triggers include facial expressions in images and videos, and real-time interactions - though many studies did not stimulate EC. While many studies did utilize validated EC scales, about 28% of the studies reviewed used non-validated questions to measure EC. Moreover, the EC research reviewed heavily relies on college-aged, predominantly white participants, indicating a need for more diverse samples.Discussion: Future EC research should explore processes and nuances associated with EC among older adults, minoritized groups, and diverse contexts (e.g., healthcare, schools), using novel triggers and multiple measurement methods.

Background: Uncertainty is a pervasive challenge in clinical practice. Whereas the importance of humility in navigating uncertainty has been discussed, empirical research on how humility is practiced or expressed (i.e., humility in action) is lacking. This study examines humility's presence and role in physicians' uncertainty experiences during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The objectives were to determine if and how humility presented in physicians' reflections on uncertain situations during the height of the COVID‐19 pandemic and to explore potential roles of humility in managing uncertainty.Methods: After intercoder reliability was established, four members of the author team utilized qualitative data analysis software to conduct a secondary analysis of critical incident interviews with 12 physicians (seven ED and five ICU physicians) about experiences with uncertainty while caring for COVID‐19 patients. To identify if humility was present in situations of uncertainty, the authors deductively coded transcripts for key elements of humility based on previously published conceptualizations by Tangney (2000) and Gruppen (2015). Additionally, the authors examined code co‐occurrence to identify clusters of humility and conducted a thematic analysis to uncover potential roles of humility and what humility “looks like” in clinical situations.Results: Aspects of humility were frequently present in physicians' narratives. Acknowledgment of shortcomings was most common. Acceptance of limitations, openness, and perspective‐taking frequently co‐occurred. Two key themes emerged: humility allowed physicians to trust their training despite uncertainty and enabled pivoting and adapting to new information.Conclusions: Findings suggest that humility facilitates managing uncertainty by promoting trust in abilities and enabling flexibility and openness. Formal training in humility may better prepare clinicians for uncertainty. Further research should explore nuances of humility across clinical situations and types of uncertainty.

The challenges to sustaining interprofessional education (IPE) are numerous and well-documented. These challenges include crowded curricula, scheduling conflicts, lack of physical space, faculty availability, and financial considerations. In turn, IPE is often viewed and treated as an add-on rather than an integral part of healthcare education, leading to sporadic implementation and vulnerability to institutional changes. The concept of eLearning, utilizing electronic technologies for education, emerges as a potential solution to these challenges and could serve as the "next frontier" for IPE. eLearning offers a flexible and scalable platform to deliver IPE, transcending geographical and time constraints. Recent research highlights the benefits of eLearning-based IPE, including enhanced collaboration, learner satisfaction, and clinical application. eLearning allows learners to engage in virtual simulations, reflexive exercises, and collaborative problem-solving, fostering essential skills for future healthcare teams. Interprofessional eLearning courses can seamlessly integrate into existing health professions curricula, catering to busy professionals and students. Most importantly, eLearning promotes consistent and purposeful embedding of interprofessional values and competencies throughout education, training, and professional development. In this Short Report, we utilize the Center for Advancing Interprofessional Practice, Education, and Research (CAIPER) at Arizona State University as a rudimentary "critical instance" case study for advancing and sustaining IPE through eLearning program development. CAIPER exemplifies this approach by constructing engaging evidence-based eLearning IPE courses ranging from examining and applying interprofessionalism in primary care to empathy and humility team-based training. CAIPER's eLearning courses have reached a global audience of over 65,000 learners highlighting the reach, impact, and viability of eLearning for sustainable IPE. Although further research is needed, eLearning presents a promising solution to the systemic challenges of IPE, and by embracing eLearning and embedding interprofessional eLearning courses in existing curricula, institutions can ensure the consistent, accessible, and sustainable delivery of high-quality IPE experiences.