Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of role-play teaching in cultivating medical students' empathy and shared decision-making competence in orthodontic case-based teaching. Methods From February to August 2023, 88 fourth-year undergraduate students in five-year and eight-year programs of stomatology at Peking University School of Stomatology were recruited as research participants. Using simple randomization, they were assigned to an experimental group and a control group, with 44 students in each group. The students in the experimental group were taught using role-play-based case teaching, while the students in the control group were taught using traditional case-based discussion. A self-developed questionnaire was administered before and after teaching to assess four dimensions: empathic skills, empathy attitude, shared decision-making attitude, and preference for physician authority in decision making. Data were analyzed using t tests and chi-square tests. Results After the intervention, students in the experimental group scored better than those in the control group in both empathy and shared decision-making competence. Specifically, they had higher scores for empathic skills [(16.84±4.62) vs. (14.02±3.68)] and empathic attitudes [(29.85±3.78) vs. (27.77±3.23)], and a lower preference for physician authority score [(6.80±0.93) vs. (7.77±1.01)]. All of these differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Conclusions Incorporating role-playing teaching method into orthodontic case-based teaching enhances students' empathic competence, promotes the development of shared decision-making competence, and reduces tendencies toward physician-dominated decision-making.

Key words: Orthodontics, Role-playing, Case-based teaching, Teaching methods, Empathic Competence, Shared decision-making competence