UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING DOES NOT REDUCE EMPATHY: A Cross Sectional Survey of Students at the British School of Osteopathy
Item
- Title
- UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING DOES NOT REDUCE EMPATHY: A Cross Sectional Survey of Students at the British School of Osteopathy
- Title
- UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING DOES NOT REDUCE EMPATHY: A Cross Sectional Survey of Students at the British School of Osteopathy
- Author(s)
- Ellen Sarah
- Abstract
- Background: Empathy has been directly linked with improved patient outcomes. Empirical research suggests that students at medical schools and in other healthcare professions experience erosion of empathy throughout their training. Objectives: The aim of this study was to see if training at the British School of Osteopathy (BSO) caused a decline in students’ empathy levels. Methods: A convenience sample of BSO undergraduate students anonymously completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (S-version), a valid and reliable self-report scale, and provided brief demographic details. Analysis of mean scores, t-test, and one-way ANOVA including post-Hoc tests were used to compare differences in empathy between year, gender and age group. Results: The response rate was 187 (39% of total population). There was a significant increase in empathy scores between second and fourth year students; clinical (third and fourth year) female students were significantly more empathetic than preclinical (first and second year) female students. Conclusions: This research suggests that training at the BSO did not cause a decline in self-reported empathy and clinical experience enhances levels of empathy.
- Abstract
- Background: Empathy has been directly linked with improved patient outcomes. Empirical research suggests that students at medical schools and in other healthcare professions experience erosion of empathy throughout their training. Objectives: The aim of this study was to see if training at the British School of Osteopathy (BSO) caused a decline in students’ empathy levels. Methods: A convenience sample of BSO undergraduate students anonymously completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (S-version), a valid and reliable self-report scale, and provided brief demographic details. Analysis of mean scores, t-test, and one-way ANOVA including post-Hoc tests were used to compare differences in empathy between year, gender and age group. Results: The response rate was 187 (39% of total population). There was a significant increase in empathy scores between second and fourth year students; clinical (third and fourth year) female students were significantly more empathetic than preclinical (first and second year) female students. Conclusions: This research suggests that training at the BSO did not cause a decline in self-reported empathy and clinical experience enhances levels of empathy.
- presented at
- British School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2011
- Date Submitted
- 3.2.2012 00:00:00
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Pub-Identifier
- 15054
- Inst-Identifier
- 780
- Keywords
- Empathy, osteopath, education, medical, gender
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Ellen Sarah, “UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING DOES NOT REDUCE EMPATHY: A Cross Sectional Survey of Students at the British School of Osteopathy”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 14, 2024, https://www.osteopathicresearch.com/s/orw/item/1782