Empathy among Medical Students: Is There a Relation with Quality of Life and Burnout? (original) (raw)
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Empathy in medical students as related to academic performance, clinical competence and gender
Medical Education, 2002
Context Empathy is a major component of a satisfactory doctor-patient relationship and the cultivation of empathy is a learning objective proposed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) for all American medical schools. Therefore, it is important to address the measurement of empathy, its development and its correlates in medical schools.
Empathy, well-being, and mental health: do gender differences diminish by the end of medical school?
Women & Health, 2020
This study aims to investigate if medical students demonstrate differences related to gender in terms of empathy, burnout, tolerance, openness to spirituality, well-being, and mental health, and to examine whether these differences vary across levels of medical training. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the first semester of 2015 in a Brazilian medical school. The following were evaluated: quality of life (WHOQOL-Bref), burnout (Oldenburg), mental health (DASS-21), empathy (Empathy Inventory and ESWIM), and tolerance, well-being, and openness to spirituality (ESWIM). We investigated how these outcomes varied in terms of gender, stage of medical training, and its interaction using a two-way MANOVA. A total of 776 students were included and important differences were observed. As medical training advanced, the differences between genders that were present during students' initial years (greater empathy, worse quality of life, and worse mental health among women) tended to become nonsignificant during the clerkship years. In addition, a significant interaction between stage and gender was found for ESWIM Wellness; WHOQOL; DASS Anxiety and DASS Stress. These results may denote a shortcoming in the way medical schools approach gender differences. Educators should consider these findings when restructuring curricula to respect gender differences, thus fostering their respective potentials.
How Do Distress and Well-being Relate to Medical Student Empathy? A Multicenter Study
Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2007
Objective To determine whether lower levels of empathy among a sample of medical students in the United States are associated with personal and professional distress and to explore whether a high degree of personal well-being is associated with higher levels of empathy. Design Multi-institutional, cross-sectional survey. Setting All medical schools in Minnesota (a private medical school, a traditional public university, and a public university with a focus in primary care). Participants A total of 1,098 medical students. Measurements Validated instruments were used to measure empathy, distress (i.e., burnout and symptoms of depression), and well-being (high quality of life). Results Medical student empathy scores were higher than normative samples of similarly aged individuals and were similar to other medical student samples. Domains of burnout inversely correlated with empathy (depersonalization with empathy independent of gender, all P < .02, and emotional exhaustion with emotive empathy for men, P = .009). Symptoms of depression inversely correlated with empathy for women (all P ≤ .01). In contrast, students’ sense of personal accomplishment demonstrated a positive correlation with empathy independent of gender (all P < .001). Similarly, achieving a high quality of life in specific domains correlated with higher empathy scores (P < .05). On multivariate analysis evaluating measures of distress and well-being simultaneously, both burnout (negative correlation) and well-being (positive correlation) independently correlated with student empathy scores. Conclusions Both distress and well-being are related to medical student empathy. Efforts to reduce student distress should be part of broader efforts to promote student well-being, which may enhance aspects of professionalism. Additional studies of student well-being and its potential influence on professionalism are needed.
Empathy in senior year and first year medical students: a cross-sectional study
BMC Medical Education, 2011
Background: The importance of fostering the development of empathy in undergraduate students is continuously emphasized in international recommendations for medical education. Paradoxically, some studies in the North-American context using self-reported measures have found that empathy declines during undergraduate medical training. Empathy is also known to be gender dependent-(highest for female medical students) and related to specialty preference -(higher in patient-oriented than technology-oriented specialties). This factor has not been studied in Portuguese medical schools. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of undergraduate medical students on self-rated measures of empathy collected at entrance and at the conclusion of the medical degree, and on the association of empathy measures with gender and specialty preferences in one medical school in Portugal. Empathy was assessed using the Portuguese adaptation of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-students version (JSPE-spv) among three cohorts of undergraduate medical students in the first (N = 356) and last (N = 120) year. The construct validity of JSPE-spv was cross-validated with Principal Component Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach' Alpha. Global JSPE-spv score differences were examined by year of medical school, gender and specialty preferences (people-oriented vs technology-oriented specialties).
Decline of empathy among medical students: Dehumanization or useful coping process
2018
Objectives. – Empathy is central in patient-physician interactions and understanding its development is decisive for education. However, scientific literatures report a striking decline of empathy among medical students during their study course. Firstly, we aimed to replicate this result on a Belgian population. Secondly, as well reported by literature, we expected higher empathy scores for women. Lastly, as central, we expected higher empathy levels for medical students than for " control " students (commercial students were used as a control group: social interactions without a curing aspect) at the beginning of their study course, suggesting that empathy drives students to select specific education fields. Methods. – Through a cross-sectional design, we assessed students from medical and commercial edu-cations at different years of study with the Basic Empathy Scale (N = 1602). We compared: (1) empathy scores at different scholar levels for both populations; (2) scores between men and women; (3) empathy scores between medical and commercial students in their first year of study. Results. – As expected, a significant empathy decline was displayed over time for medical students; women reported significant higher empathy scores than men; and, in their first year, medical students presented significant higher empathy scores than commercials. Conclusions. – Replicating the empathy decline on several student populations is crucial, especially by using different tools. This decline is a multi-factorial process that mainly reflects self-representation changes. The empathy gender bias is a strong effect observed in several empathy-linked phenomena. Finally, empathy is not only central but also drives students to select specific education fields.
A Cross-sectional Measurement of Medical Student Empathy
Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2007
Empathy is important in the physician-patient relationship. Prior studies have suggested that physician empathy may decline with clinical training. To measure and examine student empathy across medical school years. A cross-sectional study of students at Boston University School of Medicine in 2006. Incoming students plus each class near the end of the academic year were surveyed. The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student Version (JSPE-S), a validated 20-item self-administered questionnaire with a total score ranging from 20 to 140. JSPE-S scores were controlled for potential confounders such as gender, age, anticipated financial debt upon graduation, and future career interest. 658 students participated in the study (81.4% of the school population). The first-year medical student class had the highest empathy scores (118.5), whereas the fourth-year class had the lowest empathy scores (106.6). Measured empathy differed between second- and third-year classes (118.2 vs 112.7, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .001), corresponding to the first year of clinical training. Empathy appears to increase from the incoming to the first-year class (115.5 vs 118.5, P = .02). Students preferring people-oriented specialties had higher empathy scores than students preferring technology-oriented specialties (114.6 vs 111.4, P = .002). Female students were more likely than male students to choose people-oriented specialties (51.5 vs 26.9%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .001). Females had higher JSPE-S scores than males (116.5 vs 112.1, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .001). Age and debt did not affect empathy scores. Empathy scores of students in the preclinical years were higher than in the clinical years. Efforts are needed to determine whether differences in empathy scores among the classes are cohort effects or represent changes occurring in the course of medical education. Future research is needed to confirm whether clinical training impacts empathy negatively, and, if so, whether interventions can be designed to mitigate this impact.
Empathy Levels in Medical Students as they Advance through their Years of Education
DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICO-LIFE-SCIENCES, 2024
Background: At Nishtar Medical University, medical students' empathy levels across different years of medical education were compared to identify and present any differences in empathy levels between the medical students of other years. Methods: Using cross-sectional analysis stratified random sampling technique, this study compared empathy among Nishtar Medical University medical students in the first, third, final, and internship years. MBBS 2nd and 4th-year students in Nishtar Medical University, Multan, are excluded from the study. A Google Form questionnaire was shared with the students to compare their empathy levels in various years of medical education. The sample size is 288. Results: Empathy scores decreased over time, with first-year students scoring the highest (84.09 ± 3.68) and third-year students scoring 75.06 ± 3.71. The 5th year had a somewhat lower empathy score of 74.63 ± 3.82, followed by a considerable reduction in average scores to 64.15 ± 0.84 during the internship year. Conclusion: A definitive cross-sectional study at Nishtar Medical University has conclusively addressed the inquiry of comparing empathy levels across the different years of medical education. The results unequivocally show a decline in empathy during undergraduate medical training.
Investigación en Educación Médica, 2016
Introduction: Empathy is the mediating role of the physician-patient relationship. Through this process the practitioner seeks to understand the patient's frame of reference and also to establish a relationship of openness, mutual respect, trust and deep understanding. Objective: This study aims to analyze the perceptions of medical students on the importance of empathy in the doctor-patient relationship, and to analyze the gender differences and in the different years of the course. It is also intended to identify a taxonomy of students based on their perceptions of empathy. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate medical students. A total of 208 medical students responded to the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student Portuguese Version (JSPE-spv). Principal Components Analysis with varimax rotation was used to identify the number and compositions of emerged factors. The scores of the retained factors were submitted to a cluster analysis to identify different groups of students, based on the dimension of empathy. A One-way Anova analysis and post-hoc tests of Tukey supported the identified cluster. Results: This study shows statistically significant differences between genders, i.e., female individuals show higher scores than male individuals. Empathy increases over the course, but with no statistically significant differences. Six factors emerged from factor analysis, and three of them are empathy dimensions found in other studies: ''adoption of perspectives'', ''compassionate care'', and ''standing in the patients shoes''. Cluster analysis divided the students into five groups according to the dimensions of empathy identified.
Empathy, quality of life and occupational burnout among medical students
Research and Development in Medical Education
Background: Empathy, quality of life, and occupational burnout are essential factors in medical sciences that affect the physicians’ and patients’ communication. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association of these three factors among medical students. Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted among medical internship students. Participants were selected by using simple random sampling. The Jefferson Empathy Questionnaire, the WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire, and the Maslach Burnout Questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using t test, Kruskal-Wallis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: A total of 167 students completed the questionnaires. The association of empathy and occupational burnout (P=0.005, r=-0.414) and between the quality of life and occupational burnout (P=0.005, r=-0.446) were both significantly negative. Independent t test showed the mean score of occupati...
Changes in the empathy levels of a group of undergraduate medical students: A longitudinal study
South African Journal of Bioethics and Law
Background. The concept of empathy in students has gained significant attention in medical education. Whether implementing formal educational interventions to promote long-term and effective empathy levels leads to sustained increased empathy levels in students, is however less clear. Objectives. The study aimed to evaluate the trajectory of medical students’ self-perceived empathy levels during their 6-year MB ChB degree. Methods. A longitudinal, prospective study was conducted over 4 years. A cohort of 292 medical students was invited to participate. Participants completed the Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Students (JSE-S) at three intervals during their studies. The students attended two workshops related to empathic patient interactions during this time. The JSE-S mean score by age and gender was compared, making use of a linear regression model. Results. A total of 119 students completed the study. Students’ total empathy levels were similar during the first and the last measu...