What is it about?
The aim of this meta-analysis was to synthesize the existing evidence examining how empathy changes during undergraduate medical education and assess whether different types of measures produce different results
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Why is it important?
This review indicated a significant decrease in self-ratings of empathy across the years of medical education. However, moderation analysis showed that the observed effect size was non-significant for studies that did not use the Jefferson’s Scale for Physician Empathy (JSPE).
Perspectives
the results of this meta-analysis indicate that one needs to be cautious in concluding that empathy decreases during medical education, given the over-reliance on one single measure. At a practical level, studies examining changes in empathy scores should include more than one measure in order to derive meaningful conclusions. A tri- angulation of methods using self reports, but also patient perceptions, and even peer assessments could provide reli- able information concerning the changes of empathy during the years of undergraduate medical education. More infor- mation is needed before we devote scarce resources to train- ing healthcare professionals to be more empathetic, in order to deliver high quality, holistic care
Dr Vasiliki Spatoula
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Does empathy change during undergraduate medical education? – A meta-analysis*, Medical Teacher, May 2019, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/0142159x.2019.1584275.
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