# Exploring the Impact of Professional Acting on Empathy Development in Medical Students

## TL;DR

A performance-based training program with professional actors significantly improves medical students' empathetic communication skills.

## Contribution

This study introduces a novel actor-led training method to enhance empathy in medical students through experiential learning.

## Key findings

- Significant improvements in empathetic communication were observed across all domains after the training.
- The largest gains were in verbal expressiveness, non-verbal behavior, and integration of self.
- The intervention was well-received and feasible for integration into medical curricula.

## Abstract

Empathy is essential to patient-centered care and is linked to improved satisfaction, adherence, and clinical outcomes. Yet, empathy often declines during medical training, and traditional teaching methods may fall short in cultivating observable empathic behaviors. This study evaluated a structured, actor-led training program designed to enhance third-year medical students’ empathetic communication.

Eighteen third-year students participated in a four-week, performance-based workshop incorporating role-play, character immersion, and feedback from professional actors and faculty. Empathetic communication was assessed pre- and post-intervention using a 28-item observational checklist across five domains. Paired-sample t-tests were used to evaluate changes.

Twelve students completed the full training. Statistically significant improvements were observed across all domains (p < 0.001), with the largest gains in verbal expressiveness, non-verbal behavior, and integration of self. All participants showed individual progress, with no significant gender-based differences. The intervention was well-received and deemed feasible for curricular integration.

Actor-led, experiential training significantly enhances medical students’ ability to express empathy through verbal and non-verbal behaviors. These findings support incorporating performance-based methods into undergraduate medical education to foster more emotionally attuned clinicians.