Reconsidering the ‘Decline’ of Dental Student Empathy within the Course in Latin America

Abstract

Introduction:The controversy over the presence of empathic decline within the course in students of medicine, dentistry and health sciences in general, has not fully been studied. This controversy could be partially solved if massive studies of empathy levels are made in similar cultural, social and economic contexts. Material and Methods:Empathy levels within the course were studied in eighteen dental schools from six countries in Latin America (2013). The mean of the empathy levels were used to study the behavior between first and fifth academic years. The values of empathy levels within the course were observed by applying the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, the Spanish version. All these studies were cross-sectional. The value of means observed, were subjected to regression studies and further adjustment curves were obtained and the coefficient of determination were calculated. Results: Six different models of behavior were observed, which found that five of them suffer empathic decline within the course, but with different final results: in some the decline persists until the fifth academic year and in others, this decline 'recovers' persistently until the fifth academic year. The sixth model is characterized by a constant and persistent increase of levels of empathy within the course until the last academic year. Discussion: There are six different models for the behavior of means of levels of empathy within the course evaluated by a common methodology in eighteen dental schools from six countries of Latin America. These findings support the existence of variability of empathic response and a comprehensive approach is needed to find the causes that give rise to this variability. Conclusion:In dental students of Latin America, there is variability in the behavior of the distribution in means between the academic years of the dentistry schools examined in this study.

Empathic decline and training in nursing students

“…However, some authors have found evidence that the empathic decline in students does not always occur; this has been found in various health careers (3,(9)(10)(18)(19)(20) . It has been suggested (21) that empathic decline is a particular case of various behaviors of means of empathy throughout courses or years of study, and that there is variability in this behavior.…”

“…But, even if that were true in any case, it would be very complex and would require, before each intervention, studies of specific causes and the operation of their contribution to the process of decline. However, if it is indeed a particular case, and the evidence is consistent in this sense (18)(19)(20)(21) , then it is necessary to carry out exhaustive study of levels of empathy before developing any intervention processes, considering, in all cases, not only the study of empathy as a monolithic construct, but also of each of its components. The "simple fact" is that empathy is a dialectical synthesis of its three components.…”

Empathy Levels of Dental Faculty and Students: A Survey Study at an Academic Dental Institution in Chile

“…‐ 7 For health care providers, having high levels of empathy increases their ability to understand the effect patients' experiences have on their illness, and better communication skills will translate into improved treatment outcomes 8, 9 . Health professionals who gained good communication skills and empathetic patient relationships have shown improved success in care provision 10, 11 …”

Empathy and Personality Styles in Medical Students

“…On the other hand, differences have been found in the levels of empathy among students of different dental schools within a country, as well as differences among students from different countries (Díaz-Narváez, Erazo et al, 2017). In all these cases it is observed that the variables studied explain little about the behavior of the empathy.…”