Enhancing Empathy in Pediatric Residency Through Immersive Design
Erika MacGregor
Project Summary
Empathy is fundamental to quality healthcare, yet traditional residency training in Canada underemphasizes the development of empathetic communication skills—especially in pediatrics, where clinicians must navigate complex interactions with children and their families. Erika MacGregor’s thesis investigates this gap and proposes a novel approach using Virtual Reality (VR) and Human-Centered Design (HCD) to create immersive, feedback-rich learning experiences for pediatric residents.
Grounded in theories of experiential learning, the research critiques the limitations of Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) and identifies the undervaluation of soft skills within current curricula. Through an extensive literature review and critical analysis, the thesis highlights how VR-based Simulation-Based Medical Education (SBME) can offer safe, repeatable, and emotionally engaging scenarios that enable residents to practice and improve communication competencies.
The project contributes a design framework for empathy training tools that center the learner’s experience, support reflection, and incorporate real-time, multimodal feedback. This work advances the design of meaningful educational technologies in medical training and aligns with the lab’s mission to enhance wellbeing through inclusive, positive technology.
Keywords: Virtual Reality, Pediatric Residency, Human-Centered Design, Empathy Training, Medical Education, Learning Feedback, Simulation-Based Learning
