scholarly journals Stability of empathy scores between first- and fourth-year medical students: A longitudinal study at a Japanese medical school

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshimi Nakanishi ◽  
Hirotaka Ito
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Japanese Version ◽  
First Year ◽  
Compassionate Care ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
School Year ◽  
Fourth Year Medical Students ◽  
Relationship Importance

Abstract Background: In medical practice, a relationship of trust between doctors and patients is essential. An important part of building and maintaining this relationship is empathy. Prior studies have suggested that empathy in medical students declined around the fourth year. The purpose of this study is to verify the decrease of empathy and gain further insights into empathy factors. Methods: This longitudinal study of undergraduate medical students was conducted through a self-administered, 20-item survey, using a 5-point Likert scale. First (n=105) and fourth (n=62) year students at Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine in Japan were assessed for empathy using the Japanese version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE). Total empathy scores were calculated, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to reveal the underlying factors of the Japanese version of JSPE. Finally, logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the presence of any relationships between attributes such as gender-related differences, age, school year, and experience as a patient. Results: In total, 234 participants were contacted, of whom 167 responded (71.3%). No decrease of mean empathy scores was shown between first-year (66.4) and fourth-year students (68.4). Factor analysis identified four factors: “building good patient-doctor relationship,” “importance of empathetic care,” “understanding patients’ view,” and “compassionate care.” A weak correlation (r = - 0.271) was observed between “understanding patients’ view” and “importance of empathetic care.” The odds ratio of females in “understanding patients’ view” and “compassionate care” was significantly higher (p<0.05) than in males. For “compassionate care,” statistically significant differences were noted for gender (p < 0.05) and age (p< 0.05) and the effect of gender being larger than age. Conclusions: This longitudinal cohort study in one medical school in Japan showed that empathy scores of first- and fourth-year students did not decrease, and the contribution of “compassionate care” was lowest of the four factors. The results imply the necessity to provide a program that enables preclinical medical students to understand the significance of emotional empathy and express it before they appear for computer-based testing (CBT) and objective structured clinical examination (OBCE) in their fourth year.

Quantifying empathy levels among UK undergraduate medical students: an online survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. bjgp20X711293
Author(s):  
Sarah Garnett ◽  
Hajira Dambha-Miller ◽  
Beth Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional

BackgroundEmpathy is a key health care concept and refers to care that incorporates understanding of patient perspective’s, shared decision making, and consideration of the broader context in which illness is experience. Evidence suggests experiences of doctor empathy correlate with improved health outcomes and patient satisfaction. It has also been linked to job satisfaction, and mental wellbeing for doctors. To date, there is a paucity of evidence on empathy levels among medical students. This is critical to understand given that it is a key point at which perceptions and practices of empathy in the longer term might be formed.AimTo quantify the level of empathy among UK undergraduate medical studentsMethodAn anonymised cross-sectional online survey was distributed to medical students across three universities. The previously validated Davis’s Interpersonal Reactivity Index was used to quantify empathy. The survey also collected information on age, sex, ethnicity, year of medical school training and included a free-text box for ‘any other comments’.ResultsData analysis is currently underway with high response rates. Mean empathy scores by age, sex, year of study and ethnic group are presented. A correlation analysis will examine associations between age and year of study, and mean empathy sores.ConclusionThese data will help to provide a better understanding of empathy levels to inform the provision of future empathy training and medical school curriculum design. Given previous evidence linking experiences of empathy to better health outcomes, the findings may also be significant to future patient care

scholarly journals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) medical students – an examination of their journey and experiences as medical students in limbo

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Gillezeau ◽  
Wil Lieberman-Cribbin ◽  
Kristin Bevilacqua ◽  
Julio Ramos ◽  
Naomi Alpert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
First Year ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Student Sample ◽  
Medical Specialties ◽  
Residency Programs ◽  
Deferred Action ◽  
The Status ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract Background Although the value of DACA medical students has been hypothesized, no data are available on their contribution to US healthcare. While the exact number of DACA recipients in medical school is unknown, DACA medical students are projected to represent an increasing proportion of physicians in the future. The current literature on DACA students has not analyzed the experiences of these students. Methods A mixed-methods study on the career intentions and experiences of DACA medical students was performed utilizing survey data and in-depth interviews. The academic performance of a convenience sample of DACA medical students was compared to that of matriculated medical students from corresponding medical schools, national averages, and first-year residents according to specialty. Results Thirty-three DACA medical students completed the survey and five participated in a qualitative interview. The average undergraduate GPA (SD) of the DACA medical student sample was 3.7 (0.3), the same as the national GPA of 2017–2018 matriculated medical students. The most common intended residency programs were Internal Medicine (27.2%), Emergency Medicine (15.2%), and Family Medicine (9.1%). In interviews, DACA students discussed their motivation for pursuing medicine, barriers and facilitators that they faced in attending medical school, their experiences as medical students, and their future plans. Conclusions The intent of this sample to pursue medical specialties in which there is a growing need further exemplifies the unique value of these students. It is vital to protect the status of DACA recipients and realize the contributions that DACA physicians provide to US healthcare.

scholarly journals Synchronous distance teaching of radiology clerkship promotes medical students’ learning and engagement

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Alamer ◽  
Fawaz Alharbi
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
Distance Teaching ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Student Attendance ◽  
Perceived Satisfaction ◽  
Fourth Year Medical Students ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted education in myriad ways, primarily leading to an abrupt paradigm shift in teaching and learning practices towards distance learning. The study aims to assess the effectiveness of teaching radiology to undergraduate medical students using synchronous distance learning compared to traditional on-campus learning through exploring students’ perceived satisfaction and concerns. Students’ perceptions were correlated with their attendance, grades, and frequency of technical difficulties. Methods The study was designed as an observational study involving fourth-year medical students (2019/2020) from two institutions. The cohort students were exposed to traditional learning, distance learning, or both. Students completed an online self-administered questionnaire concerning their perceptions of distance learning. Students’ attendance, engagement, technical difficulties, and post-clerkship knowledge assessments were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results A total of 145 participants completed the clerkship using the following strategies: traditional learning (n = 66), both traditional and distance learning (n = 67), and distance learning alone (n = 12). The most important result indicates that the abrupt transition to distance learning was well perceived. Most students preferred distance learning over traditional learning in the radiology clerkship (p = .05). During the synchronous sessions, student attendance was high, reaching to 100%. Technical difficulties were limited (1.9%), and they did not affect learning. Conclusion Synchronous distance teaching promotes learning, interaction, and enjoyment in undergraduate radiology education, and it can be as effective as traditional on-campus learning. The technical difficulties encountered, although they were limited, can be overcome by recording the synchronous sessions.

scholarly journals Searching for the erosion of empathy in medical undergraduate students: a longitudinal study

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e041810
Author(s):  
José Manuel Blanco ◽  
Fernando Caballero ◽  
Santiago Álvarez ◽  
Mercedes Plans ◽  
Diana Monge
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Cognitive Empathy ◽  
Primary Outcome Measure ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
School Settings ◽  
School Year ◽  
School Of Medicine ◽  
Medical Undergraduate ◽  
Sociocultural Differences

ObjectiveTo analyse the trajectory of empathy throughout the degree programme of medicine in a Spanish school of medicine.DesignLongitudinal, prospective 5-year study, between October 2014 and June 2019.SettingStudents from a Spanish university of medicine.ParticipantsTwo voluntary cohorts of undergraduate medical students from two different school years were invited to participate (n=135 (cohort 1, C1) and 106 (cohort 2, C2) per school year). Finally, a total number of 174 students (102 (C1, 71.6% women) and 72 (C2, 70.8% women) students, respectively) were monitored for 5 years. Each cohort was divided in two subcohorts of paired and unpaired students that were analysed to check possible social desirability bias.Primary outcome measureThe Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE).ResultsThe cohort of 102 students (C1) monitored between their first and fifth years of study (71.6% women) showed an improvement among paired women of 2.15 points in total JSE score (p=0.01) and 2.39 points in cognitive empathy (p=0.01); in the unpaired female cohort the increase was of 2.32 points (cognitive empathy) (p=0.02). The cohort of 72 students (C2) monitored between their second and sixth years of study (70.8% women) displayed a cognitive empathy increase of 2.32 points (p=0.04) in the paired group of women. There were no significant differences between paired and unpaired results for either cohort. Empathy scores among men did not decrease.ConclusionsThe empathy of medical students at our school did not decline along grade years. In fact, it improved slightly, particularly cognitive empathy, among women. This paper contributes to enlarge data from Europe, where longitudinal studies are scarce. It supports the idea that there may be global geo-sociocultural differences; however, more studies comparing different school settings are needed.

Replicating Anatomical Teaching Specimens using 3D Modelling Embedded within a Multimodal E-Learning Course: A Pre/Post Study Exploring the Impact on Medical Education during COVID-19 (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Stunden ◽  
Sima Zakani ◽  
Avery Martin ◽  
Shreya Moodley ◽  
John Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Congenital Heart ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
First Year ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had significant effects on anatomy education. During the pandemic, students have had no access to cadavers, which has been the principal way of learning anatomy. We created and tested a customized congenital heart disease e-learning course for medical students that contained interactive 3D models of anonymized pediatric congenital heart defects. OBJECTIVE To assess if a multimodal e-learning course contributed to learning outcomes in a cohort of first year undergraduate medical students study congenital heart diseases. Secondarily, we assess student attitudes and experiences associated with multimodal e-learning. METHODS The pre/post study design involved 290 first year undergraduate medical students. Recruitment was conducted through the course instructors. Data were collected before using the course and after using the course. The primary outcome was knowledge acquisition (test scores). The secondary outcome included attitudes and experiences, as well as time to complete the modules, and browser metadata. RESULTS A total of 141 students were included in the final analysis (N=141). Students’ knowledge significantly improved by an average of 44.6% when using the course (SD 1.73, Z = -10.287, p < 0.001). 88.26% of students were highly motivated to learn with the course and 93.5% of students reported positive experiences with the course. There was a strong correlation between attitudes and experiences, which was statistically significant (rs = 0.687, p<0.001, N = 122). There were no relationships found between change test scores and attitudes or experiences (p>0.05). Students most frequently completed the e-learning course with Chrome (77.3%), and on Apple MacOS (61.0%) or Windows 10 (36.9%). Most students had devices with high-definition screens (83.0%). Most students (58.9%) completed the course in under 3 hours. CONCLUSIONS Multi-modal e-learning could be a viable solution to improving learning outcomes and experiences for undergraduate medical students, who do not have access to cadavers. Future research should focus on validating long-term learning outcomes. CLINICALTRIAL n/a

scholarly journals Student engagement and higher order skill proficiency: a comparison of traditional didactic and renewed integrated active learning curricula

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 685-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mari K. Hopper ◽  
Daniela A. Brake
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Poor Correlation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cohort Groups ◽  
The Impact

A large, multicampus, public medical school underwent curricular renewal, emphasizing a student-centered approach with 50% of all course contact time devoted to active learning. Determining the impact of active learning on student engagement and higher order skill (HOS) proficiency was the primary aim of this study. Following Institutional Review Board approval, two cohort groups of first-year medical students were enrolled. The first cohort ( n = 54) included students before curriculum reform in the legacy curriculum (LC). The second cohort ( n = 73) included students completing studies in the renewed curriculum (RC). Near the end of the first year of medical school, both cohorts completed a validated survey of student engagement, and a proctored problem-based assessment of HOS proficiency [Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+)]. Results indicated RC students perceived greater levels of engagement than LC (39.5+5.8 vs. 33.3+5.6), and greater reliance on HOS, including analysis, synthesis, and application. However, there were no significant differences between cohorts in proficiency of HOS when assessed by the CLA+ (LC = 1,878 ± 161 vs. RC = 1,900 ± 157). Additionally, poor correlation between engagement and HOS for both LC and RC indicated more engaged students do not necessarily possess greater HOS proficiency. Ceiling effect may explain results as medical students enter medical school as highly skilled learners with potentially little room for improvement. It will be informative to continue to track engagement and HOS of both cohort groups as they continue their medical studies.

scholarly journals First year medical students’ perceptions of the impact of wearing scrubs on professional identity: a narrative analysis in the United Arab Emirates

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e039357
Author(s):  
Sara Sorrell ◽  
Halah Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Professional Identity ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
First Year ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
First Year Medical Students ◽  
The Impact

ObjectivesMedical school serves as a critical developmental period for future physicians, during which students begin to form a professional identity. Just as personal appearance, particularly clothing, is an important external expression of one’s personal identity, ‘uniforms’ in healthcare, including white coats and scrubs, symbolise status and a group identity. There are, however, limited studies on the impact of physician attire on medical students’ formation of professional identity. Accordingly, through qualitative analysis of written narratives, we sought to analyse medical students’ experiences of wearing professional physician attire, namely scrubs, and how the uniform impacted their confidence level, performance and behaviours, as well as their identity as future physicians.DesignQualitative analysis of medical student’s written narratives.SettingKhalifa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences (KU CMHS) is a new medical school in the United Arab Emirates, with an inaugural class of 30 students admitted in August 2019. It is the only medical school in the city of Abu Dhabi, and the only school in the country that follows a postgraduate medical curriculum.ParticipantsAll first year medical students at KU CMHS were purposively sampled.MethodsStudents completed a voluntary online anonymous questionnaire. We employed a social identity approach to data analysis. Thematic content analysis was conducted on their narratives to identify themes.ResultsWe identified three major themes, namely (1) emotions, (2) logistics and (3) interpersonal relationships.ConclusionsMedical students form early perceptions regarding physician attire and its impact on their professional identity. Engaging in conversations regarding professional attire with educators or mentors could provide an important opportunity for students to discuss and explore professional identity early in training.

scholarly journals Earlier Introduction to Job Applications for UK Medical Students

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Clinical Medicine ◽  
Fourth Year Medical Students

As fourth year medical students at a London medical school, we have welcomed the new changes to our MBBS curriculum whereby traditional pre-clinical medical students are now being exposed to clinical medicine earlier on. Although we do not directly benefit from this, we feel that an earlier introduction to clinics would have been more beneficial as our first clinical year would have been more productive having already adjusted to clinical medicine.

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