Educating for Caring Relationships: Best Practice from a Medical Humanities Program on Empathy and Communication Skills in Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

In a healthcare context where human skills risk being overshadowed by technology and reduced to mere tools for productivity, this experimental study—rooted in the pedagogy of medical education— explores an educational and pedagogical program within the Medical Humanities. The analysis of this Best Practice aims to assess the relational and communication skills of healthcare professionals enrolled in a Master’s Degree in Health Professions of Technical-Diagnostic Sciences at the University of Foggia. The intervention, structured into narrative modules and experiential workshops, was evaluated using a pre-post design (Jefferson Empathy Scale; Communication Skills Attitudes Scale), revealing a significant improvement in empathy, active listening, and communicative awareness. The results support the authentic development of human competencies, emphasizing a Human-centered approach.