| Empathy in UK medical students: differences by gender, medical year and specialty interest. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 22005486 Owner: NLM Status: In-Data-Review |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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The importance of empathetic communication in the context of patient care has been suggested as a crucial element in the delivery of high-quality medical care. Although some countries have measured empathy among medical students, little is known formally about the state of affairs regarding empathy in the UK with regard to gender, medical years and speciality. This paper presents the results from a cross-sectional study that explored the relationship between undergraduate medical students' empathy scores relevant to gender, medical school year and future career ambitions. The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, a self-administered questionnaire, was used for collecting data. It was decided to incorporate the scale into a web application that was only accessible through a confidential hyperlink. A total of 853 (68.2%) medical students completed the survey. Female students (n=470) scored significantly (t((819))=-6.63; 95% CI=-0.30, -0.16) higher than male students (n=351). No significant differences were observed between empathy mean scores and medical school year. Students choosing people-oriented specialities had significantly higher mean scores in comparison to students preferring technology oriented specialities. Three hypotheses were tested in this study. The hypothesis that female students would score higher than male students was supported by the results. The findings did not support the hypothesis that empathy scores decline during the medical school years. Finally, the findings did support the hypothesis that those preferring peopleoriented specialities would score higher on the empathy scale than students choosing technology oriented specialities. Some recommendations are made and the limitations of study are discussed. |
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Authors:
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Sina Tavakol; Reg Dennick; Mohsen Tavakol |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Education for primary care : an official publication of the Association of Course Organisers, National Association of GP Tutors, World Organisation of Family Doctors Volume: 22 ISSN: 1473-9879 ISO Abbreviation: Educ Prim Care Publication Date: 2011 Sep |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2011-10-18 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 101141280 Medline TA: Educ Prim Care Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 297-303 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Undergraduate Neuroscience Student, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Nottingham, UK. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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