Chatting with Nabeela Kajee on the complexity of empathy, and how it can be cultivated in health professionals and trainees

In episode nine we chat with Dr Nabeela Kajee, a medical doctor and currently a Rhodes Scholar and doctoral student in Psychiatry at the University of Oxford. She shares her journey into medical educational research, prompted by a curiosity for evidence-based education and encouraged through mentorship, before diving into more detail on her doctoral research. Her intersectional research looks at mindfulness, communication and empathy – with empathy as the focus of this conversation. In the increasingly challenging context of healthcare (post-COVID-19, the dehumanised digital world, resource limitations, worsening mental health and growing burnout), the necessity for empathy, as a (re)humanising orientation, is emphasised. How empathy is defined (more than just cognitively based but affective and embodied too), and how it can be cultivated, through exploring the concept of an “empathy tank”, are discussed. While empathy is complex and requires nuance, several practical recommendations for sustainably developing, protecting, replenishing and practicing it across the trajectory of a health professionals training and career are shared.