Background: Even though enhancing empathy in healthcare education is a critical component of delivering better care to patients, the erosion of empathy has been frequently reported, especially when the curriculum transitions to clinical training. However, some studies have questioned the significance and frequency of this decline in empathy. Thus, this study determined whether postgraduate clinical training reduced dental trainees’ empathy.
Methods: This study included 64 trainee dentists at Okayama University Hospital and 13 simulated patients (SPs). The trainee dentists completed the Japanese version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy for health professionals immediately before conducting initial medical interviews with SPs twice, at the beginning and the end of their clinical training. The SPs evaluated the trainees’ communication using an assessment questionnaire immediately after the interviews. The videotaped dialogue in interview was analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System.
Results: Sustained levels of trainees’ self-reported empathy, decreased communication behavior in emotional responsiveness for trainees, and unchanged SPs’ assessment of trainees’ communication were found when comparing results from the beginning and the end of the training.
Conclusions: Overall, one-year postgraduate dental training neither reduced nor increased the empathy of the trainees. Providing regular educational support may help trainees to foster their empathy.
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On 25 Dec, 2020
Received 22 Dec, 2020
On 17 Dec, 2020
On 15 Dec, 2020
Received 15 Dec, 2020
On 14 Dec, 2020
Invitations sent on 14 Dec, 2020
On 14 Dec, 2020
On 14 Dec, 2020
Received 30 Nov, 2020
On 30 Nov, 2020
On 15 Nov, 2020
Received 15 Nov, 2020
On 10 Nov, 2020
On 09 Nov, 2020
Invitations sent on 09 Nov, 2020
On 09 Nov, 2020
On 09 Nov, 2020
On 10 Oct, 2020
Received 08 Oct, 2020
On 06 Oct, 2020
Received 30 Sep, 2020
Invitations sent on 08 Sep, 2020
On 08 Sep, 2020
On 03 Sep, 2020
On 02 Sep, 2020
On 02 Sep, 2020
Posted 06 Aug, 2020
On 17 Aug, 2020
On 28 Jul, 2020
On 27 Jul, 2020
On 27 Jul, 2020
On 26 Jul, 2020
Background: Even though enhancing empathy in healthcare education is a critical component of delivering better care to patients, the erosion of empathy has been frequently reported, especially when the curriculum transitions to clinical training. However, some studies have questioned the significance and frequency of this decline in empathy. Thus, this study determined whether postgraduate clinical training reduced dental trainees’ empathy.
Methods: This study included 64 trainee dentists at Okayama University Hospital and 13 simulated patients (SPs). The trainee dentists completed the Japanese version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy for health professionals immediately before conducting initial medical interviews with SPs twice, at the beginning and the end of their clinical training. The SPs evaluated the trainees’ communication using an assessment questionnaire immediately after the interviews. The videotaped dialogue in interview was analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System.
Results: Sustained levels of trainees’ self-reported empathy, decreased communication behavior in emotional responsiveness for trainees, and unchanged SPs’ assessment of trainees’ communication were found when comparing results from the beginning and the end of the training.
Conclusions: Overall, one-year postgraduate dental training neither reduced nor increased the empathy of the trainees. Providing regular educational support may help trainees to foster their empathy.
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