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Med Students Lose Empathy After Second Year, Study Finds

VOA Student Union

   While medical school students gain key healing skills as their
   education progresses, one important quality seems to wane: empathy.

   According to a study from [1]Thomas Jefferson University in
   Philadelphia, "a statistically significant decline in [2]empathy scores
   was observed when comparing students in the preclinical (first and
   second years) and clinical (third and fourth years) phases of medical
   school."

   Empathy is "a cognitive attribute that involves an ability to
   understand the patient's pain, suffering and perspective, combined with
   a capability to communicate this understanding and an intention to
   help," according to [3]Mohammadreza Hojat, who created the Jefferson
   Scale of Empathy in 2001.

   Hojat looked at more than 10,000 students enrolled in 41 of 48 campuses
   of [4]Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) medical schools in the United States in
   2017-2018.

References

   1. https://www.instagram.com/jeffersonuniv/?hl=en
   2. https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/FullText/2020/06000/Does_Empathy_Decline_in_the_Clinical_Phase_of.39.aspx
   3. https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/colleges-schools-institutes/skmc/research/research-medical-education/team/hojat.html
   4. https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/FullText/2020/06000/Does_Empathy_Decline_in_the_Clinical_Phase_of.39.aspx

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