Evaluation of empathy among Korean medical students: a cross-sectional study using the Korean Version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy

Abstract

Background: Empathy is an essential element of physician professionalism. Thus, proper evaluation and education of empathy in medical students is important for medical education.

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean Student-Version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE-S).

Methods: The scale was completed cross-sectionally by 493 medical students at Seoul National University College of Medicine in Korea.

Results: Item-total correlations were all positive and statistically significant. Cronbach's coefficient alpha was 0.84. A factor structure similar to that from American medical students was observed. The mean score of 5.2 +/- 0.6 was obtained. Significant differences in the empathy scores were observed among years in medical school but not between genders.

Conclusions: Our findings provide support for the reliability and validity of the Korean JSPE-S and indicate that it can serve as a useful instrument for assessing empathy among Korean medical students.