Presented By: Michelle Troup, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Co-Authors: Joel Burt-Miller, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Trip Crowley, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Kelly Quesnelle, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Luis Sanchez Ferrer, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Manav Shaw, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Tae Watts, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Wendy Yang, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville

Purpose 
The professional and interpersonal skills of communication, expression of empathy, and cultural competence are vital skills for physicians and as such have been incorporated into LCME Standard 7.6, "Structural Competence, Cultural Competence and Health Inequities". We examined the modalities of instruction, barriers to curriculum development, and learner assessment of these skills in undergraduate pre-clerkship medical curriculum to establish best practice recommendations.

Methods 
We completed literature search of PubMed search for empathy, communication, cultural competency in undergraduate medical curriculum. We included peer-reviewed literature published between 2013 and June 2023 focused on curricular implementation or assessment of empathy, communication, or cultural competence in the pre-clerkship undergraduate medical education years. Articles were excluded if they did not focus on curricular or assessment interventions, were in non-US based undergraduate medical institutions, were not in the English language, or were not based in the pre-clinical years. Of 198 articles reviewed, 103 were excluded on abstract review and the remaining 95 articles were reviewed by two separate reviewers to evaluate: type of curricular intervention.

Results 
Existing literature revealed development of the professional and interpersonal skills of communication, expression of empathy, and cultural competence in undergraduate medical education is being conducted via lecture, small group sessions, and clinical skill based learning. Identified barriers to curriculum implementation and assessment included: stakeholder buy-in, time and/or training of faculty; time in existing curriculum; incorporation of objective assessment tools.

Conclusion 
Existing literature shows a variety of techniques for the implementation of curriculum surrounding development of communication, expression of empathy, and cultural competence in medical learners. Further assessment via targeted survey will help elucidate how medical schools are implementing the LCME Standard 7.6 and assessing medical learner competencies in these areas.