Malaysian Medical Students' self-reported Empathy: A cross-sectional Comparative Study
B Williams1, S Sadasivan2, A Kadirvelu2
1Monash University, Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice, Australia. brett.williams@monash.edu.
The Medical Journal of Malaysia
|July 12, 2015
Summary
First-year medical students reported higher empathy than second-year students. This study highlights potential shifts in empathy during medical education, prompting further investigation into influencing factors.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education Research
- Psychology of Healthcare Professionals
Background:
- Empathy is crucial for effective patient care.
- Understanding empathy development in medical students is vital for training future physicians.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare self-reported empathy levels between first-year and second-year medical students at a Malaysian university.
- To identify potential differences in empathy scores at different stages of undergraduate medical training.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 204 undergraduate medical students (122 first-years, 102 second-years).
- Empathy was assessed using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (Student Version) JSPE-S.
- Data analysis compared mean empathy scores between the two student cohorts.
Main Results:
- First-year medical students exhibited significantly higher mean empathy scores (112.1) compared to second-year students (108.8).
- The difference in empathy scores between the year groups was statistically significant (p<0.038, d=0.31).
- No significant gender-based differences in empathy scores were observed.
Conclusions:
- Self-reported empathy levels differ between first and second-year medical students.
- Further research is needed to track empathy longitudinally throughout medical school.
- Investigating the impact of clinical experiences like internships and rotations on empathy is recommended.
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