The Empathy in Medicine Initiative is a nonprofit that helps clinicians talk with patients more clearly. We publish scripts, checklists, and a training course. All of it is free.
It is built for medical students, nurses, doctors, and the people who teach them. Download what you need, or apply to represent EIMI as an ambassador.
When clinicians are trained to listen well, hospitals see30%fewer 30-day readmissions.Schillinger 2003 · JAMA Internal Medicine
Physicians face3×lower malpractice risk.Levinson 1997 · JAMA
And patients show40%higher treatment adherence.Hojat 2011 · Academic Medicine
Active in 12 countries.
Students, clinicians, and ambassadors are putting these tools to work in their own schools and clinics. Each point on the globe is one school in the registry.
Live registry
562
schools mapped
Today, EIMI counts 2,161 free accounts, 562 schools, 12 countries, and 579 members. Members are the free accounts that also have members-only access. The registry grows weekly.
Clinical excellence and human connection are the same skill.
Trust before treatment
A patient who feels safe asks the question that changes the diagnosis. Our scripts make space for that question, without lengthening the visit.
Backed by the literature
Every checklist is grounded in peer-reviewed research, from teach-back to agenda-setting. We turn each method into one page you can hand to a resident.
Made to be shared
Every resource is free to download, free to print, and licensed under Creative Commons. Take them into your clinic, your ward, or your medical school. No paywalls, and no sign-up needed to download.
Tools, training, and a rollout plan.
Toolkit and Scripts
Printable scripts, cards, and checklists for the moments that decide a visit. Use this if you want something you can read from or hand out tomorrow.
Professional Training
A 15-module course you take at your own pace, with a 45-question exam at the end. Use this if you want the EIMI Trained credential.
Pilot-in-a-Box
A 4-week plan for rolling the tools out to a whole team, with surveys and templates. Use this if you are starting in a unit or clinic, not on your own.
How to start using the tools.
Download the tools you need
Open the toolkit and save the scripts and checklists as PDFs. No account, no sign-up, no cost.
Use them at your next shift
Print a script and keep it in a pocket, or read it off your phone. The tools fit inside the visit you already have.
Ask patients whether it helped
Optional feedback forms collect anonymous answers from patients and colleagues. You decide whether to use them.
Better healthcare starts with how we listen.
The working principle behind every script we publish.
The four most-downloaded tools this week.
30-Second Opening Script
A brief, warm opening that sets the tone for the rest of the visit.
Download →Teach-Back Checklist
Confirms understanding without condescension, in under a minute.
Download →“What Matters to Me” Card
Patient values and preferences captured in the patient’s own words.
Download →Caregiver Question Prompts
Four questions caregivers can bring with them to the visit.
Download →