Empathic orientation among medical students from three universities in Barranquilla, Colombia and one university in the Dominican Republic. / Empathic orientation among medical students from three universities in Barranquilla, Colombia and one university in the Dominican Republic.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To compare empathic orientation among medical students from three schools of medicine in Colombia and one in the Dominican Republic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Empathic orientation of medical students was measured using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE), Spanish version for students (the "S" version) validated in Mexico and Chile, and culturally adapted to Colombia and the Dominican Republic. Data were compared using a three-factor analysis of variance (model III) and a discriminant analysis. RESULTS: No differences in empathic orientation were observed among courses and between sexes, but differences were found in schools of medicine considered as a unit in each studied country. CONCLUSIONS: Empathic orientation levels tend to reduce as courses advance. This was observed in both male and female students and in all schools analyzed.