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. 2014 Sep;26(3):217-21.
doi: 10.3946/kjme.2014.26.3.217. Epub 2014 Sep 1.

How well do medical students express empathy?

Yera Hur  1 , A Ra Cho  2 , Sun Kim  2
Affiliations

How well do medical students express empathy?

Yera Hur et al. Korean J Med Educ. 2014 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: Empathy is an important trait of a physician and a key element in the physician-patient relationship. This study evaluated the ability to express empathy in medical students.

Methods: Medical student empathy was measured by the modified Pencil-and-Paper Empathy Rating Test of Winefield and Chur-Hansen. The subjects comprised 110 medical students. The data were analyzed by descriptive analysis and t-test using SPSS version 21.0 (IBM Corp.).

Results: Empathy rating test scores were low-level in medical students (mean, 12.59). There were no differences in the level of ability to express empathy between genders (t=-1.714, p=0.089).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that practical training in expressing empathy should be included in medical education and that an empathy training program must be focused on changes in behavior.

Keywords: Communication; Empathy; Medical education; Medical students; Physician-patient relations.

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