Introduction: For physicians and nurses, teamwork involves a set of communication and social skills, and specific training in interdisciplinary work in order to be able to work together cooperatively, sharing responsibilities, solving problems, and making decisions to carry out actions centered on patients' care. Recent studies demonstrate that in the absence of targeted interdisciplinary educational programs, the development of teamwork abilities is sensitive to the influence of the dominant work environment. The purpose of this study was to characterize the role that environmental and individual factors play in the development of teamwork in environments with a dominant hierarchical work model. Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to 1,880 undergraduate students (980 medicine students and 900 nursing students) from three universities of Cusco city (Peru). The Jefferson Scale of Attitudes toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration was used as the main variable. The Jefferson Scales of Empathy and Lifelong Learning, the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, the Scale of Life Satisfaction, sex, discipline, age, and academic semester were used as explanatory variables. After calculating internal reliability and normality of the main measures, descriptive, comparative, and correlation analyses were performed to determine variables influencing the teamwork score. Results: A total of 1,518 (81%) surveys were returned fully completed. Adequate reliability was confirmed in all instruments. In the sample, nursing students showed greater inter-professional collaborative abilities than medicine students (p < 0.001). This attitudinal gap was higher in advanced semesters. A three-way ANOVA indicated differences in teamwork were associated with discipline (p < 0.001), sex (p < 0.01), and university (p < 0.001). However, main effects were associated only with discipline (η p 2 = 0.14). Teamwork showed an inverse correlation with loneliness (ρ = −0.28; p < 0.001) and a positive correlation with empathy (ρ = + 0.49; p < 0.001) and lifelong

Berduzco-Torres et al. Family Loneliness and Medical Professionalism Conclusion: These findings confirm how family loneliness is detrimental to the development of medical professionalism. Also, they support the important role that the family, and especially parents, plays in the development of empathy, teamwork, and abilities in medical students. Finally, these findings highlighted important differences among students enrolled in public and private medical schools.

Background Empathy is described as a core competence of nursing. There is abundant research evidence supporting that empathy varies according to personal characteristics and targeted training. The aim of this study was to characterize non-academic factors (personal and environmental) influencing the development of empathy in undergraduate nursing studies who are not receiving a targeted training in empathetic abilities in their nursing schools. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed in the three nursing schools located in Cusco city, Peru (two private and one public). The Jefferson Scales of Empathy, Attitudes toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration, and Lifelong Learning, the Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, and the Scale of Life Satisfaction, were applied as the main measures. Also, information regarding gender, nursing school, and age, were collected. After psychometric properties were assessed, all measures were used in the development of a multivariate regression model to characterize factors of influence in empathy. Results In a sample composed by 700 undergraduate nursing students (72 males and 628 females), a multivariate linear regression model was created. This model explained the 53% of variance of empathy and fitted all conditions necessary for inference estimations. Teamwork abilities, loneliness, age, sex, subjective well-being, and nursing school, appeared as factors influencing the development of empathy in patients’ care. Conclusions Findings have indicated that, in absence of a targeted training, individual characteristics and characteristics associated with social and family environments play an important role of influence in the development of empathy in nursing students. These findings are also in consonance with others previously reported in different cultural settings including high-, middle- and low-income countries.

Background: Empathy is described as a core competence of nursing. There is abundant research evidence supporting that empathy varies according to personal characteristics and targeted training. The aim of this study was to characterize non-academic factors (personal and environmental) influencing the development of empathy in undergraduate nursing studies who are not receiving a targeted training in empathetic abilities in their nursing schools. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in the three nursing schools located in Cusco city, Peru (two private and one public). The Jefferson Scales of Empathy, Attitudes toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration, and Lifelong Learning, the Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, and the Scale of Life Satisfaction, were applied as the main measures. Also, information regarding gender, nursing school, and age, were collected. After psychometric properties were assessed, all measures were used in the development of a multivariate regression model to characterize factors of influence in empathy. Results: In a sample composed by 700 undergraduate nursing students (72 males and 628 females), a multivariate linear regression model was created. This model explained the 53% of variance of empathy and fitted all conditions necessary for inference estimations. Teamwork abilities, loneliness, age, sex, subjective well-being, and nursing school, appeared as factors influencing the development of empathy in patients’ care.Conclusions: Findings have indicated that, in absence of a targeted training, individual characteristics and characteristics associated with social and family environments play an important role of influence in the development of empathy in nursing students. These findings are also in consonance with others previously reported in different cultural settings including high-, middle- and low-income countries.