A longitudinal study on change in empathy in the first two years among medical students

Authors

Keywords:

Empathy, Innovative Curriculum, JSE-S, Longitudinal Study, Medical Humanities, Medical Student

Abstract

Introduction: Change of empathy as students progress through medical school has been varyingly described with some studies reporting a decline and others little change. This study longitudinally assessed empathy change from the start of the first year to the start of the third year in a batch of medical students.

Method: This study was carried out at Patan Academy of Health Sciences which has adopted an innovative basic sciences curriculum comprised of medical humanities, problem based learning, rural residential postings, early patient interactions and longitudinal chronic patient follow-ups. Students in the intake of 2019-20 filled the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student version questionnaire at the start of first and third years. Participants provided voluntary informed consent. Institutional Review Committee granted ethical approval to the research.

Result: Fifty-three students who participated in the study at the start of the first year were followed up at the start of the third year. The mean(±SD) empathy score showed a significant rise at the start of the third year, 112.9(±8.7) compared to the score at the start of the first year 105.6(±10.5) with a rise of 7.2 points (95% CI=3.8-10.7), p-value<0.001. In males there was a rise of 8.6 points(95% CI=3.2-14.0), p-value=0.003 and in females 5.8 points(95% CI=1.3-10.4), p-value=0.014. The rise was also seen in some subgroups based on future-specialty choice.

Conclusion: This study showed a significant rise in empathy scores in the third year when compared to the start of the first year. This may be attributed to PAHS’s innovative curriculum.

Author Biographies

Amit Arjyal, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal

Assistant Professor, Department of Commuity Health Sciences

Krishna Bahadur GC, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal

Assistant Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences

Amanda Helen Douglas, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal

Formerly Voluntary Faculty, Department of General Practice & Emergency Medicine

Madhusudan Subedi, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal

Proessor, Department of Community Health Sciences

Rajesh Nath Gongal, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal

Professor, Department of Surgery, Patan Hospital

https://doi.org/10.3126/jpahs.v11i2.67738

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Published

2024-07-11

How to Cite

Arjyal, A., GC, K. B., Douglas, A. H., Subedi, M., & Gongal, R. N. (2024). A longitudinal study on change in empathy in the first two years among medical students. Journal of Patan Academy of Health Sciences, 11(2), e1–7. Retrieved from https://jpahs.edu.np/index.php/jpahs/article/view/377

Issue

Section

Medical Education - Original Articles