Does empathy decline in the clinical phase of medical education? A study of students at Leicester medical school
Objective: To examine whether medical student empathy changes throughout the five years of a UK medical school. Methods: Students completed an online version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE-S) during the 2022–2023 academic year. Comparisons of empathy scores were made using analysis of varian...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | PEC Innovation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772628224000645 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850110549448196096 |
|---|---|
| author | Leila Keshtkar Andy Ward Rachel Winter Char Leung Jeremy Howick |
| author_facet | Leila Keshtkar Andy Ward Rachel Winter Char Leung Jeremy Howick |
| author_sort | Leila Keshtkar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: To examine whether medical student empathy changes throughout the five years of a UK medical school. Methods: Students completed an online version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE-S) during the 2022–2023 academic year. Comparisons of empathy scores were made using analysis of variance (ANOVA), and independent t-tests. Results: Empathy scores varied across different years of medical school (P ≤ 0.001), with a small drop in empathy between the pre-clinical and clinical phases of medical school (Mean difference = 1.82, P = 0.025). Male students scored lower than female students and there was no statistically significant difference between the mean empathy score and speciality interest. Conclusions: Students' empathy appeared declined slightly as they progressed through medical school. As a crucial component of good clinical care, interventions in medical education to enhance empathy should be prioritised. Innovation: This is the first time following the COVID-19 pandemic that medical student empathy was measured across all five years of a medical school. Unlike many previous related studies, we identified the point at which empathy appears to decline, providing guidance for educators who can target empathy enhancing interventions where they are most needed. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-332f4150dc294c8c816ce99f092d35a5 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2772-6282 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PEC Innovation |
| spelling | doaj-art-332f4150dc294c8c816ce99f092d35a52025-08-20T02:37:49ZengElsevierPEC Innovation2772-62822024-12-01510031610.1016/j.pecinn.2024.100316Does empathy decline in the clinical phase of medical education? A study of students at Leicester medical schoolLeila Keshtkar0Andy Ward1Rachel Winter2Char Leung3Jeremy Howick4Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, Leicester Medical School, University of Leicester, George Davies Centre, Lancaster Rd, Leicester LE1 7HA, UK; Corresponding author.Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, Leicester Medical School, University of Leicester, George Davies Centre, Lancaster Rd, Leicester LE1 7HA, UKStoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, Leicester Medical School, University of Leicester, George Davies Centre, Lancaster Rd, Leicester LE1 7HA, UKLeicester Medical School, University of Leicester, George Davies Centre, Department of Population Health Sciences, Lancaster Rd, Leicester LE1 7HA, UKStoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, Leicester Medical School, University of Leicester, George Davies Centre, Lancaster Rd, Leicester LE1 7HA, UKObjective: To examine whether medical student empathy changes throughout the five years of a UK medical school. Methods: Students completed an online version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE-S) during the 2022–2023 academic year. Comparisons of empathy scores were made using analysis of variance (ANOVA), and independent t-tests. Results: Empathy scores varied across different years of medical school (P ≤ 0.001), with a small drop in empathy between the pre-clinical and clinical phases of medical school (Mean difference = 1.82, P = 0.025). Male students scored lower than female students and there was no statistically significant difference between the mean empathy score and speciality interest. Conclusions: Students' empathy appeared declined slightly as they progressed through medical school. As a crucial component of good clinical care, interventions in medical education to enhance empathy should be prioritised. Innovation: This is the first time following the COVID-19 pandemic that medical student empathy was measured across all five years of a medical school. Unlike many previous related studies, we identified the point at which empathy appears to decline, providing guidance for educators who can target empathy enhancing interventions where they are most needed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772628224000645EmpathyMedical schoolEducation |
| spellingShingle | Leila Keshtkar Andy Ward Rachel Winter Char Leung Jeremy Howick Does empathy decline in the clinical phase of medical education? A study of students at Leicester medical school PEC Innovation Empathy Medical school Education |
| title | Does empathy decline in the clinical phase of medical education? A study of students at Leicester medical school |
| title_full | Does empathy decline in the clinical phase of medical education? A study of students at Leicester medical school |
| title_fullStr | Does empathy decline in the clinical phase of medical education? A study of students at Leicester medical school |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does empathy decline in the clinical phase of medical education? A study of students at Leicester medical school |
| title_short | Does empathy decline in the clinical phase of medical education? A study of students at Leicester medical school |
| title_sort | does empathy decline in the clinical phase of medical education a study of students at leicester medical school |
| topic | Empathy Medical school Education |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772628224000645 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT leilakeshtkar doesempathydeclineintheclinicalphaseofmedicaleducationastudyofstudentsatleicestermedicalschool AT andyward doesempathydeclineintheclinicalphaseofmedicaleducationastudyofstudentsatleicestermedicalschool AT rachelwinter doesempathydeclineintheclinicalphaseofmedicaleducationastudyofstudentsatleicestermedicalschool AT charleung doesempathydeclineintheclinicalphaseofmedicaleducationastudyofstudentsatleicestermedicalschool AT jeremyhowick doesempathydeclineintheclinicalphaseofmedicaleducationastudyofstudentsatleicestermedicalschool |