Establishing Validity Evidence for Parallel Patient-Provider Empathy Scales to Drive Self-reflection

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Healthcare Professional Development
• Empathy Assessment

Background:

• Self-awareness is crucial for student pharmacists to assess skill development, including affective skills like empathy.
• External feedback aids development, but validated empathy assessments are needed.
• Accurate assessment tools are essential for evaluating empathy in student pharmacists.

Purpose of the Study:

• Establish validity for the revised Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (KCES-R).
• Compare student self-perceptions with simulated patient perceptions of empathy using KCES-PV.
• Evaluate student reflections on empathy during patient encounters.

Main Methods:

• Student pharmacists self-assessed empathy using KCES-R pre- and post-encounter.
• Simulated patients rated student empathy using KCES-PV post-encounter.
• Students reflected on empathy via video review and thematic analysis.

Main Results:

• KCES-R demonstrated two factors with high internal consistency and sensitivity to change.
• Student self-perceptions of empathy were higher than simulated patient ratings.
• Students recognized empathy's importance and desired further development.

Conclusions:

• The KCES-R is a valid tool for assessing student pharmacist empathy.
• A parallel scale (KCES-PV) is suitable for simulated patient use.
• Validated scales combined with reflective practice can enhance self-awareness and empathy.