Empathic Attitudes in Medical Students: using of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy

Empathy plays an important role in the interaction between physician and patient. This study aimed to assess the empathic attitudes of medical students that studing in Medical Sciences schools of Tehran city, in 2015.
In this cross-sectional study, 373 medical students were selected using stratified random sampling. Data was collected using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-the Student Version. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics via the SPSS v.16 software. The significant level was set as pEthical Considerations: Participants verbal consent was obtained and anonymously and confidentiality of the completing questionnaires was assured to them.
Findings: According to the empathy scale (20-140), the medical students had a mean empathy score of 82.94 (SD=±7.08), with the highest level for perspective-taking dimension (26.81±2.80). Empathy scores among students varied depending on gender, age, and marital status (p Empathy with patients was different among medical students in various years of education. Such, the rate of empathy with patient was reduced with increasing the students’ age and educational level. Regarding to significance of empathy as a moral virtue, it is recommended planning to strengthent empathy with patients and inclusion of it in medical students’ curriculum, in order to improve the mental and spiritual health of patients.