Empathy trajectories throughout medical school: relationships with personality and motives for studying medicine

Abstract

Empathy remains a widely discussed topic within medical education research. Studies on empathy changes among medical students are not univocal: empathy may decline, remain stable or increase. A largely unexplored research question regards inter-individual variability in empathy change, namely if different longitudinal trajectories of empathy exist. Evidence on the association of empathy trajectories with personality and motives for studying medicine is also scarce. Here, latent growth modeling examined empathy (measured with the Jefferson Scale of Empathy) among 201 medical students (Mage=20.74, 57% females) across three assessments: at entry year (Year 1) and during the first two clinical years (Years 4 and 5).Associations between empathy trajectories, personality in Year 1 and motives for studying medicine in Years 4 and 5 were tested. We identified two empathy trajectory groups: lower and decreasing (n=59; 29%) and higher and stable (n=142; 71%). Regression analyses indicated that higher openness in Year 1 was associated with an increased probability of higher and stable group membership (controlling for motives in Year 1). The effect of openness disappeared controlling for motives in Years 4 and 5 while caring for patients (in Years 4 and 5) and altruism (in Year 4) were positively associated with an increased probability of higher and stable group membership. In sum, we observed that empathy remains stable in most medical students and declines in fewer; openness and patients-oriented motives for studying medicine are associated with higher and stable empathy. Encouraging medical students' patients-oriented motives from preclinical throughout clinical years may prevent empathy decline.

Searching for the erosion of empathy in medical undergraduate students: a longitudinal study

“…It suggests that some personality traits (openness) as well as patient-oriented motives for studying medicine were associated with higher and stable empathy. 53 Besides, results from studies which use different instruments to analyse medical students' empathy, as IRI and JSE, should be compared cautiously. Both scales measure different but related constructs.…”

Associação entre Empatia e Personalidade em Estudantes de Medicina

“…Há outros aspectos que contribuem para a mudança dos níveis de empatia ao longo do curso de Medicina além da personalidade e do gênero. Piumatti et al 27 destacam, por exemplo, que a motivação para o estudo da Medicina centrada no paciente pode contribuir para manter a empatia ao longo da formação médica e, por isso, deve ser estimulada.…”

“…Exemplo disso se observa no estudo realizado por Schweller, Costa et al 29 , no qual a aprendizagem por meio de consultas com pacientes simulados favoreceu a empatia de estudantes em diferentes anos do curso de Medicina 29 . Salientamos também a importância de estratégias de aprendizagem precoces para o desenvolvimento da empatia nos estudantes de Medicina, pois, como ressaltam Piumatti et al 27 , alunos com menores níveis de empatia tendem a reduzir ainda mais seu escore com o passar do tempo. Assim, é possível individualizar intervenções pedagógicas integradas ao currículo para mudar esse cenário.…”

Pedagogy in Perspective: Ethical Erosion and Effects on Empathy Levels in Healthcare Education

“…In a recent article by Piumatti et al, differences in personality and motives of students were attributed to their changes observed in their level of empathy [1]. Empathy is a core tenet of patient-centred care.…”

“…Traditionally, empathy has been considered an inherent trait, which could not be learned. However, a body of research in educational psychology and pedagogy has demonstrated aptitude for this fundamental attribute can be taught to healthcare providers [1,2]. At present, empathy is a required component education for medical professions.…”