Empathy in medical students: analysis as a function of the undergraduate period and sociodemographic profile

Abstract

Introduction: Empathy, considered one of the most remarkable characteristics of great medical professionals, is the central element of the doctor-patient relationship and of person-centered care. Objective: To investigate how levels of empathy are manifested in medical students throughout their undergraduate course. Method: This is a quantitative, analytical, observational and cross-sectional study, carried out in a private higher education institution, located in the northeast of Brazil. The research was carried out by applying the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student version (JSE-S) and the correlation of the data obtained in the scale with the undergraduate school period and sociodemographic profile of the students, aiming to verify which correlations were significant for the expression of students’ empathy levels, as well as whether there is an erosion during training. Data collection took place between the months of October and November 2020. The study assessed 193 participants, including students attending the first year, an intermediate year and last year of the medical course. The sampling method used was by accessibility and convenience. Results: The global average score of the level of empathy in the group of all study participants (n = 193) was 123.56 ± 11.73. Whereas, by period, it was 124.78 ± 9.85 for first-year students, 124.00 ± 11.87 for intermediate-year students and 120.63 ± 13.57 for last-year students. There was no statistical difference between global scores or by psychometric factor when comparing the three studied groups. As for the correlation of JSE-S with the sociodemographic profile, the variables female gender and reason for choosing the course due to vocation were predictors of higher empathy scores. Conclusion: There was no evidence of empathy erosion regarding the levels of empathy among medical students throughout their undergraduate course, and female students and those who chose the course because they felt they had a vocation for Medicine showed significantly higher levels of empathy. More studies on this topic are essential, considering the importance of a balanced technical-scientific-humanistic posture to enable a medical practice of excellence.