Use of the arts in pharmacy education to develop self-perceived empathy

Background: Demonstrating empathy is a key competency expected of pharmacy undergraduate students. Various art media have been shown to help develop empathy in students. A new optional module designed to incorporate a range of art forms to support empathy development has been delivered and evaluated in a UK School of Pharmacy. The aim of this paper is to present this module and its evaluation. Methods: A standard teaching evaluation was emailed to students at the end of the module, and reflective work submitted as part of the assessment was thematically analysed in this mixed methods study. Ethics approval was obtained from Keele University to undertake the study. Results: Eleven students were assigned to the module. The teaching evaluation was completed by ten students and was rated favourably in every respect. This positive viewpoint was supported by analysis of eleven reflective pieces. Four key themes emerged from the data, namely, i) the learning experience; ii) the perception of illness; iii) seeing the patient as an individual; and iv) perceived empathy development. Conclusion: This study describes a range of artistic activities that can increase perceived empathy levels and be enjoyed by students. Further research is necessary to ascertain if this self-perceived empathy results in increased levels in practice.