Clinical empathy in medical students in India measured using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student Version.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical empathy of a cohort of medical students spanning 4 years of undergraduate study and to identify factors associated with empathy. METHODS: A cross-sectional study to assess the empathy of undergraduate medical students at the University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital in Delhi, India, was conducted using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student Version. Demographic data were obtained using a pre-tested, semi-open-ended questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the 600 students, 418 participated in the survey (69.7%). The mean empathy score was 96.01 (of a maximum of 140), with a standard deviation of 14.56. The empathy scores decreased from the first to the third semester, plateaued at the fifth semester, and rose again in the seventh semester. Empathy was found to be significantly associated with the gender of the participant, with females having higher scores (P<0.001). The age of the participant, place of residence, whose decision it was for the student to enroll in an MBBS (bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery) program, and the choice of future specialty were not significantly associated with students' empathy scores. CONCLUSION: The study found significant gender differences in empathy among the participants. The empathy scores tended to decline initially and then rebound over time. The mean empathy levels found in this study are lower than those reported in most similar studies around the world; therefore, further studies are needed to analyze and address the underlying factors associated with this discrepancy.

A Study of Emotional Intelligence Among Postgraduate Medical Students in Delhi.

CONTEXT: The importance of emotional intelligence (EI) in the successful practice of medicine has been well established. However, efforts to study the same in India, especially in doctors and medical students, are lacking. This study has measured the emotional intelligence of postgraduate medical students in Delhi and aimed to identify some of the factors affecting it. METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study, using the Schutte's Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test, to measure the EI of 200 postgraduate medical students of two medical colleges in Delhi. Students working in clinical specialties were selected randomly and contacted by the first author. Data was collected by a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean scores of EI among the study participants was 124.4 with a standard deviation of 12.8. The total scores possible in the scale range from 33 to 165, with higher scores representing higher EI. The age of the participants was positively associated with emotional intelligence (r = 0.187, p = 0.008). EI was also found to decrease with the increase in total workload (p=0.013), having night duty hours (p = 0.019), and having emergency duty (p = 0.037).   Conclusions: More studies to measure the EI of doctors, the factors affecting it, and possible measures to improve it, are needed. The workload of the resident doctors needs to be assessed with appropriate changes made in the total work done and the quality of work done.