A Quantitative Study of Empathy in Pakistani Medical Students: A Multicentered Approach
| Autor: | Mohsen Tavakol, Tariq Rasheed, Nabia Tariq |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Male
medicine.medical_specialty Students Medical 020205 medical informatics Cross-sectional study media_common.quotation_subject education Empathy 02 engineering and technology lcsh:Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics medical school 03 medical and health sciences Sex Factors 0302 clinical medicine Sex factors Surveys and Questionnaires gender 0202 electrical engineering electronic engineering information engineering medicine Humans Pakistan 030212 general & internal medicine Psychiatry Students medical Original Research media_common Community and Home Care Physician-Patient Relations Medical education business.industry lcsh:Public aspects of medicine Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Medical school lcsh:RA1-1270 Cross-Sectional Studies medical student lcsh:R858-859.7 Female specialty interest business Education Medical Undergraduate |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Primary Care & Community Health Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, Vol 8 (2017) |
| ISSN: | 2150-1327 2150-1319 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/2150131917716233 |
| Popis: | Objective: To examine the empathy level of undergraduate medical students in Pakistan. Three hypotheses are developed based on the literature review. (1) Female medical students have a higher level of empathy than do male students. (2) Empathy scores vary during the medical school years in Pakistani students. (3) Medical students interested in people-oriented specialties would score higher than the students interested in technology-oriented specialties. Methods: This is a quantitative inquiry approach using a cross-sectional design of 1453 students from 8 Pakistani medical schools, both private and state. The sample consists of 41.1% (n = 597) male students and 58.9% (n = 856) female students. Empirical data are collected using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE), a well-validated self-administered questionnaire. Results: The mean empathy score among students is 4.77 with a standard deviation of 0.72. The results show that there is no statistically significant association between the empathy scores and gender, t (1342.36) = −0.053, P = .95). There is a statistically significant difference between the empathy scores and the years of medical school, F (14, 1448) = 4.95, P = .01. Concerning the specialty interests, there is no statistically significant difference between the empathy score and specialty interests. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that in Western countries, medical students performed better than Pakistani medical students on the empathy scale. This finding has important implications for Pakistani medical educators to improve the interpersonal skills of medical students in the context of patient care. Inconsistent with our expectations and experiences, our findings do not support that female medical students scored better than their male counterparts on the empathy scale. Because of the nature of a cross-sectional study, it is impossible to argue the decline of empathy during medical school training. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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