Training on empathy skills for elderly persons to medical undergraduates: A quasi-experimental study

Introduction Undergraduate medical students often lack the soft skill of empathy which is considered as an important attribute for doctors. Hence, this study was conducted to improve the empathy skills among undergraduate students of a medical college in Kolkata. Methods A quasi-experimental study w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Susmita Chaudhuri, Sauryadripta Ghose, Archismita Santra, Kalyan Kumar Paul, Rajneesh Pandey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2024-10-01
Series:Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_283_24
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850199973079023616
author Susmita Chaudhuri
Sauryadripta Ghose
Archismita Santra
Kalyan Kumar Paul
Rajneesh Pandey
author_facet Susmita Chaudhuri
Sauryadripta Ghose
Archismita Santra
Kalyan Kumar Paul
Rajneesh Pandey
author_sort Susmita Chaudhuri
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Undergraduate medical students often lack the soft skill of empathy which is considered as an important attribute for doctors. Hence, this study was conducted to improve the empathy skills among undergraduate students of a medical college in Kolkata. Methods A quasi-experimental study was conducted in the Rural Health Training Centre of a medical college in Kolkata among the undergraduate medical students during community medicine posting. Students were assessed for baseline empathy by Jefferson’s Scale of Empathy (student’s version) (JSE-S). Baseline perception was taken from geriatric persons about the empathy level of medical undergraduates using Jefferson’s Scale of Patient’s Perception about Physician’s Empathy (JSPPE). Training module was prepared, validated and imparted. Post-training score was obtained using the scales for students as well as geriatric persons. Data were entered in MS Excel and analysed using STATA MP16. Results Total of 93 students participated. Overall Mean ± SD of pre-score of JES-S was 102.03 ± 13.02, and post-score was 109.03 ± 14.57; the difference was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). With respect to JSPPE, score difference was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). Significant difference was present in scores between the students who prefer people-oriented specialities compared to the technology-oriented specialities (P < 0.05). Increase in mean empathy score was significantly higher among female students than their male counterparts (P = 0.01). Conclusion(s) The study shows the effectiveness of training module in increasing empathy score among medical undergraduates which is the need of the hour to establish the proper building block of doctor-patient relationship.
format Article
id doaj-art-5c1a512f92a445dc9f370295daaf4dac
institution OA Journals
issn 2249-4863
2278-7135
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
spelling doaj-art-5c1a512f92a445dc9f370295daaf4dac2025-08-20T02:12:29ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Family Medicine and Primary Care2249-48632278-71352024-10-0113104462446810.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_283_24Training on empathy skills for elderly persons to medical undergraduates: A quasi-experimental studySusmita ChaudhuriSauryadripta GhoseArchismita SantraKalyan Kumar PaulRajneesh PandeyIntroduction Undergraduate medical students often lack the soft skill of empathy which is considered as an important attribute for doctors. Hence, this study was conducted to improve the empathy skills among undergraduate students of a medical college in Kolkata. Methods A quasi-experimental study was conducted in the Rural Health Training Centre of a medical college in Kolkata among the undergraduate medical students during community medicine posting. Students were assessed for baseline empathy by Jefferson’s Scale of Empathy (student’s version) (JSE-S). Baseline perception was taken from geriatric persons about the empathy level of medical undergraduates using Jefferson’s Scale of Patient’s Perception about Physician’s Empathy (JSPPE). Training module was prepared, validated and imparted. Post-training score was obtained using the scales for students as well as geriatric persons. Data were entered in MS Excel and analysed using STATA MP16. Results Total of 93 students participated. Overall Mean ± SD of pre-score of JES-S was 102.03 ± 13.02, and post-score was 109.03 ± 14.57; the difference was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). With respect to JSPPE, score difference was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). Significant difference was present in scores between the students who prefer people-oriented specialities compared to the technology-oriented specialities (P < 0.05). Increase in mean empathy score was significantly higher among female students than their male counterparts (P = 0.01). Conclusion(s) The study shows the effectiveness of training module in increasing empathy score among medical undergraduates which is the need of the hour to establish the proper building block of doctor-patient relationship.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_283_24empathytraining moduleundergraduate medical students
spellingShingle Susmita Chaudhuri
Sauryadripta Ghose
Archismita Santra
Kalyan Kumar Paul
Rajneesh Pandey
Training on empathy skills for elderly persons to medical undergraduates: A quasi-experimental study
Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
empathy
training module
undergraduate medical students
title Training on empathy skills for elderly persons to medical undergraduates: A quasi-experimental study
title_full Training on empathy skills for elderly persons to medical undergraduates: A quasi-experimental study
title_fullStr Training on empathy skills for elderly persons to medical undergraduates: A quasi-experimental study
title_full_unstemmed Training on empathy skills for elderly persons to medical undergraduates: A quasi-experimental study
title_short Training on empathy skills for elderly persons to medical undergraduates: A quasi-experimental study
title_sort training on empathy skills for elderly persons to medical undergraduates a quasi experimental study
topic empathy
training module
undergraduate medical students
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_283_24
work_keys_str_mv AT susmitachaudhuri trainingonempathyskillsforelderlypersonstomedicalundergraduatesaquasiexperimentalstudy
AT sauryadriptaghose trainingonempathyskillsforelderlypersonstomedicalundergraduatesaquasiexperimentalstudy
AT archismitasantra trainingonempathyskillsforelderlypersonstomedicalundergraduatesaquasiexperimentalstudy
AT kalyankumarpaul trainingonempathyskillsforelderlypersonstomedicalundergraduatesaquasiexperimentalstudy
AT rajneeshpandey trainingonempathyskillsforelderlypersonstomedicalundergraduatesaquasiexperimentalstudy