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Research article
Relationship between level of empathy during residency training and perception of professionalism climate
Aliya B Aziz
Aga Khan University Medical College Pakistan
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5885-459X
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at BMC Medical Education.
Background Empathy is one of the vital personality attributes for all physicians. It is essential for establishing general interpersonal relationships among doctors and patients.Unfortunately, there is evidence for the decline of physician’s empathy during the clinical training phase and is a major concern for medical educators worldwide. One of the major factors reported for the decline of this trait is an unprofessional learning environment.
Objective This study examines the relationship between empathy level and perception of climate of professionalism among residents.
Method The study participants included 70 residents of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics departments of a private sector tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Two self-administered internet based surveys - Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) and “Professionalism Climate Instrument”(PCI) - were administered to assess the level of empathy among the participants and their perception of professionalism in the learning environment. The relationship between the level of empathy and professionalism was analyzed using Spearman rank correlation.
Results The overall response rate was 81.4% with mean empathy level of 103±13. The internal consistency of each scale measured by Cronbach’s coefficient α was 0.76 for JSPE and 0.65 for PCI. No significant difference was observed in the mean empathy scores between senior and junior residents of both specialties. Statistically significant difference in empathy scores existed between female and male residents (p = 0.012; 95% CI, 2.27 to 17.59). The mean PCI score was 106+8.88 with no significant difference among residents of two specialties. Professionalism score was not found to vary with either the year of residency or gender. Empathy score and professionalism climate were not found to be correlated (rs= 0.56, p = 0.64).
Conclusion The findings suggested that empathy is a relatively stable trait that remains unchanged during residency training programs. Female residents had higher empathic concern than the male trainees, however, the empathy level of the participants was not found to be influenced by the climate of professionalism.
Keywords
Empathy, professionalism, residency training
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CURRENT STATUS: Published
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Posted 19 Aug, 2020
Published
On 21 Sep, 2020
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Accept
On 07 Sep, 2020
Editor assigned
On 13 Aug, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 12 Aug, 2020
Editor invited
On 12 Aug, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 10 Aug, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 05 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 21 Jul, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 17 Jul, 2020
Editor assigned
On 22 Jun, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 21 Jun, 2020
Editor invited
On 21 Jun, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 01 May, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 30 Apr, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 29 Apr, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 01 Apr, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 24 Mar, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 22 Mar, 2020
Editor assigned
On 16 Mar, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 05 Mar, 2020
Editor invited
On 05 Mar, 2020
First submitted
On 21 Feb, 2020
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PDF Downloads: ...
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Subject Areas
Educational Philosophy and Theory
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This preprint is under consideration at BMC Medical Education. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Relationship between level of empathy during residency training and perception of professionalism climate
Aliya B Aziz
Aga Khan University Medical College Pakistan
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5885-459X
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 3
Posted 19 Aug, 2020
Published
On 21 Sep, 2020
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Accept
On 07 Sep, 2020
Editor assigned
On 13 Aug, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 12 Aug, 2020
Editor invited
On 12 Aug, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 10 Aug, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 05 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 21 Jul, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 17 Jul, 2020
Editor assigned
On 22 Jun, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 21 Jun, 2020
Editor invited
On 21 Jun, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 01 May, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 30 Apr, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 29 Apr, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 01 Apr, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 24 Mar, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 22 Mar, 2020
Editor assigned
On 16 Mar, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 05 Mar, 2020
Editor invited
On 05 Mar, 2020
First submitted
On 21 Feb, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Educational Philosophy and Theory
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at BMC Medical Education.
Background Empathy is one of the vital personality attributes for all physicians. It is essential for establishing general interpersonal relationships among doctors and patients.Unfortunately, there is evidence for the decline of physician’s empathy during the clinical training phase and is a major concern for medical educators worldwide. One of the major factors reported for the decline of this trait is an unprofessional learning environment.
Objective This study examines the relationship between empathy level and perception of climate of professionalism among residents.
Method The study participants included 70 residents of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics departments of a private sector tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Two self-administered internet based surveys - Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) and “Professionalism Climate Instrument”(PCI) - were administered to assess the level of empathy among the participants and their perception of professionalism in the learning environment. The relationship between the level of empathy and professionalism was analyzed using Spearman rank correlation.
Results The overall response rate was 81.4% with mean empathy level of 103±13. The internal consistency of each scale measured by Cronbach’s coefficient α was 0.76 for JSPE and 0.65 for PCI. No significant difference was observed in the mean empathy scores between senior and junior residents of both specialties. Statistically significant difference in empathy scores existed between female and male residents (p = 0.012; 95% CI, 2.27 to 17.59). The mean PCI score was 106+8.88 with no significant difference among residents of two specialties. Professionalism score was not found to vary with either the year of residency or gender. Empathy score and professionalism climate were not found to be correlated (rs= 0.56, p = 0.64).
Conclusion The findings suggested that empathy is a relatively stable trait that remains unchanged during residency training programs. Female residents had higher empathic concern than the male trainees, however, the empathy level of the participants was not found to be influenced by the climate of professionalism.
Figure 1