Empathy in Medical Students Is Moderated by Openness to Spirituality

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychology
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Empathy is crucial in medical education, but psychological barriers like depression and burnout can impede it.
• Few studies explore how positive factors like wellness and spirituality interact with these barriers to affect empathy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between psychological distress, wellness behaviors, and empathy in medical students.
• To examine if openness to spirituality moderates the impact of psychological distress on empathy.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study surveyed 106 U.S. medical students using questionnaires.
• Data collected included demographics, specialty choice, empathy, spirituality, religiosity, wellness, burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress.
• Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to determine predictors and moderators of empathy.

Main Results:

• Burnout, wellness behaviors, spirituality openness, and religiosity independently predicted empathy.
• Spirituality openness moderated the relationship between depression and empathy, with effects seen only in nondepressed students.
• Depression was associated with lower empathy, irrespective of spirituality openness.

Conclusions:

• Nondepressed students with lower spirituality openness showed the least empathy, suggesting they may benefit most from targeted empathy training.
• Medical schools should consider interventions for burnout and promote wellness to enhance trainee empathy.
• Severely depressed or disengaged students may need interventions addressing their distress before empathy training can be effective.