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Essay 3 Final Draft
Essay 3 Final Draft
Madison McQuagge
English 1301-102
16 November 2023
Study with Medical Students in Their Third and Last Year” by N J Pohontsch, et al. is a research
article published in 2018 by BMC Medical Education. This article explores whether or not
students' empathy evolves throughout their medical career and they conduct a study on medical
students using an interview process. In the article, Pohontsch et al. conclude that medical
student’s empathy does decline over the course of their medical education and “repeated formal
evaluations” throughout their medical education can help prevent the decline (237). Pohontsch et
al. has an effective article in supporting its argument because they use logical and credible tables
that show the credibility in research by outlining their experiment clearly, using the credibility of
their interviewers, and evokes sympathy for medical students with a neutral tone.
First of all, Pohontsch et al. establishes their credibility in their article by inserting logical
tables. The table shows the readers that there were different factors such as age, gender, and
medical experience put into the interview. The table is able to gain the readers’ trust because it
creates an easy way for the audience to analyze the results. By summarizing the evidence and
gathering all the interview variables on the tables, trust is built between the reader and the
authors because they get to analyze the descriptive tables as they read through the article.
Pohontsch et al. presented Table 2 based on the interview variables (234). The table is inserted to
convey the “interviewee characteristics'' as a visual aid for the readers to depict why the
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interviewees were chosen based on their traits (234). Table 2 is split into two different halves
which consists of one half with interview group A and the other half with interview group B.
Each group had 12 interviewees which included 6 females and 6 males. However, Group A were
all in between the ages of 21 and 29 with 6 semesters of school. Group B were in between the
ages of 24 and 43 with 13 semesters of medical school. Pohontsch et al. inserted tables in the
journal to establish the credibility of the interview. The table is horizontal with Group A on the
top, and Group B is on the bottom. Pohontsch et al. states in the article, “Some of the
abovementioned studies show a decline in students’ empathy during their medical education”
(233). Therefore, the use of students from different ages is important to the interview research
because medical students can face a downslope of empathy for their patients as they extend their
medical education. According to Pohontsch, et al., “Gender is also known to influence empathy.
Therefore we aimed to interview female and male students from their 6th semester and those in
their final year to maximize variations in the students’ accounts on curricular influences on
empathy”(233). Since gender is familiar with changing factors of peoples empathy, gender is a
huge factor in this research. For these reasons, the table is inserted to appeal to the reader's logic.
Pohontsch brilliantly placed this chart to claim his credibility by demonstrating his interviewing
variables, therefore the audience should trust these interviews and results.
Next, Pohontsch uses ethos to claim credibility by claiming the credibility of the
constructors of research. For example, Pohontsch, et al. states whenever the interviewer was a
“trained psychologist and post doctorate researcher” who had previous participation with
interviews (235). In the article, Pohontsch et al. lists the education of the interviewers to gain the
trust of the readers. The authors use many different interviewers with their own impressive
educations and resumes. Not only is Pohontsch trying to impress his readers, he got some of the
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best people to help him with this experiment. The interviewers are all outstanding in the medical
field, so they are trustworthy for their findings throughout these interviews. Pohontsch et al. is
establishing his credibility by listing all of the interviewers' education and qualifications;
therefore, he makes them seem reliable. So, whenever the readers see the results they will most
Lastly, Pohontsch uses pathos by using the medical students' working conditions to gain
sympathy from the audience. The “poor working conditions”of young medical students, “the
excessive expectations” both add up at the end of their education to decrease medical students'
empathy (236). As Pohontsch et al. is trying to gain sympathy from the audience, he uses the
interviewees’ sad background as a way to get the readers' trust. By making the audience feel bad
for the interviewees, he declares his credibility because he provokes the readers pity. For
example, if a medical student with a difficult background has more sympathy for patients than a
medical student with a normal background, out of pity the readers will trust that information.
All in all, Pohontsch et al. article is successful in supporting his argument because he
establishes his credibility by using logos by inserting tables and graphs, ethos by claiming the
credibility of the conductors of the research, and pathos by using the medical students' working
conditions to gain sympathy from the audience. After reviewing the “longitudinal studies”
Pohontsch et al. were able to determine that the decline of “empathy throughout medical
education and students suffering from burn-out symptoms show lower empathy scores(232).”
Therefore, the results of this research is that students who have spent a good amount of time in
college have decreased empathy for their patients. The interview was “undetermined” whether
gender affects the students empathy (237). However, medical students who are mentally
exhausted and no longer have motivation for school have declined empathy scores. After reading
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the peer reviewed journal, the rhetorical situations in Pohontsch’s research are important because
he wants his audience’s trust. With the knowledge of the rhetorical situations, readers should
read the article and understand why he wants the trust of the readers and what information he is
trying to spread.
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Work Cited
Exploratory Interview Study with Medical Students in Their Third and Last
Year.” BMC Medical Education, vol. 18, no. 1, 2018, pp. 231–239. Academic