Development of Empathy Through Participation in Interprofessional Simulation: An Exploratory Study of Master of Occupational Therapy Students’ Perspectives

Abstract This exploratory study focused on students’ perspectives of an interprofessional TeamSTEPPS simulation related to grief and loss on the development of empathy. This study used a nonrandom, purposeful sample of 45 first-year occupational therapy students from one Midwestern university during a single semester. Results identified three primary themes specific to empathy with corresponding subthemes. Two primary themes emerged in relation to current and future learning opportunities for enhanced empathy development through engagement with simulated clients. These results were reviewed in light of the occupational therapy literature on empathy and interprofessional education. Limitations include ungeneralizable data and subjective student responses.