The Emotions Experienced by Family Medicine Residents and Final Year Medical Students During Their Patient Encounters: A Qualitative Study

Ozlem Tanriover, Sukran Peker, Seyhan Hidiroglu, Dilek Kitapcioglu, Sinem Yildiz, Nesrin Karamustafalioglu, M. Ali Gulpinar

Keywords: emotions, medical students, family medicine residents, doctor-patient communication

Background:
The family medicine residents and final year medical students are challenged with increased workload and they experience various emotions during their patient encounters. They are confronted with uncertainities in their role descriptions and they witness illness, sufferings and deaths as part of their everyday duties. Only several studies have focused on these experiences to find out what the family medicine residents and medical students were literally feeling. The aim of this study was to explore the family medicine residents and final year medical students’ emotions during their patient encounters.

Research questions:
What do the family medicine residents and final year medical students feel during their patient encounters?
How do family medicine residents and final year medical students deal with emotionally challenging situations?

Method:
This qualitative study was performed with 12 family medicine residents and 24 final year medical students using a convenience sample from two medical faculties to explore and analyse their emotions. Data were gathered by means of focus group interviews, including six interviews conducted and recorded through online meetings.

Results:
Three main themes emerged from the data regarding residents’ and students’ emotions. The first theme was the perceived negative feelings on the climate of clinical settings. The most commonly encountered emotions were the tension and anxiety followed by frustration and uncertainty. The second theme was the challenge of reflecting emotions during patient encounters. They stated that they struggled with hiding their emotions from the patients. The third one was feelings of insufficiency. Both residents and students thought that they had insufficient medical knowledge and skills.

Conclusions:
The family medicine residents and final year medical students are challenged with emotions during their patient encounters. Therefore, medical educators have to be aware of the need to support them even more than usual during uncertain times with prioritizing residents’and students’ wellbeing.

Points for discussion:
Do medical educators take into account of residents' or medical students' emotions during patient interviews?

What could be done in order to help family medicine residents and medical students to cope with their negative emotions during their education?