Empathy in UK medical students: differences by gender, medical year and specialty interest

  • Tavakol, Sina
  • Dennick, Reg PhD MEd
  • Tavakol, Mohsen PhD MClinEd

  • Undergraduate Neuroscience Student, School of Biomedical Sciences

    Professor of Medical Education, Medical Education Unit

    Medical Education Consultant

    University of Nottingham, UK

Correspondence to: Mohsen Tavakol, Medical Education Unit, Floor B, Queen’s Medical Centre, The University of Nottingham, Derby Road, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK. Tel: +44 (0)115 829 3595. Email: [email protected]

Accepted May 2011

Education for Primary Care 22(5):p 297-303, 2011.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN IN THIS AREA

  • Previous empirical studies have shown that the independent variables: gender, medical school year and speciality interest, may influence medical students’ attitudes towards empathy.

WHAT THIS WORK ADDS

  • The hypothesis that female medical students are more empathetic compared to males was supported by the results.

  • The results of this study did not support the hypothesis that empathy declines throughout medical school.

  • The findings of this study supported the hypothesis that medical students choosing people-oriented specialities were more empathic than students choosing technology oriented specialities.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

  • Phenomenological and ethnographic studies are recommended to illuminate how students experience and display empathy in their clinical rotations with patients.

  • Longitudinal studies are required for a better understanding of the alleged decline in empathy during medical school.

Copyright © 2011 Radcliffe Publishing Ltd.