Raof Awring M, Yassin Bervian A
Department of Community Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq;
Department of Preventive Health, Public Health Institute, Erbil, Iraq.
Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2016 Feb;16(1):e62-7. doi: 10.18295/squmj.2016.16.01.011. Epub 2016 Feb 2.
Empathy is a crucial attribute within the physician-patient relationship. This study aimed to evaluate the empathy levels of students in the College of Medicine at Hawler Medical University (HMU) in Erbil city, Iraq.
This cross-sectional study took place between January and May 2015 and included all medical undergraduates enrolled at HMU (n = 989). The validated self-administered English language version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student Version (JSPE-SV) was used to measure empathy levels. Students reported their conformity to each statement of the 20-item questionnaire on a 7-point Likert scale. Levels of empathy were considered directly relative to their final score.
A total of 927 students completed the questionnaire (response rate: 93.7%). The male-to-female ratio was 0.72:1 and the mean age was 21.3 ± 1.4 years. The mean empathy score was 101.9 ± 19.2. Female students had significantly higher empathy (P = 0.023) and more frequently chose people-oriented specialties (P = 0.001) than males. First-year students reported the highest mean score (112.9 ± 20.1) while fourth-year students had the lowest (92.7 ± 16.0). There was a significant decline in mean scores between first- and second-year male students (P = 0.020) and first- and fourth-year male students (P = 0.050). Students who chose people-oriented specialties had significantly higher scores than those who chose technology-oriented specialties (P = 0.002).
The studied cohort of HMU students demonstrated low empathy levels. As such, the inclusion of empathy instruction in medical school curricula is recommended to promote professionalism and patient welfare.
同理心是医患关系中的一项关键特质。本研究旨在评估伊拉克埃尔比勒市哈勒尔医科大学（HMU）医学院学生的同理心水平。
这项横断面研究于2015年1月至5月进行，纳入了所有在HMU就读的医学本科生（n = 989）。采用经过验证的杰斐逊医生同理心量表学生版（JSPE-SV）的英文自填版本来测量同理心水平。学生们根据7分李克特量表报告他们对20项问卷中每条陈述的符合程度。同理心水平被认为与他们的最终得分直接相关。
共有927名学生完成了问卷（回复率：93.7%）。男女比例为0.72:1，平均年龄为21.3±1.4岁。平均同理心得分为101.9±19.2。女生的同理心显著更高（P = 0.023），并且比男生更频繁地选择以人为主的专业（P = 0.001）。一年级学生的平均得分最高（112.9±20.1），而四年级学生的得分最低（92.7±16.0）。一年级和二年级男生之间以及一年级和四年级男生之间的平均得分有显著下降（P = 0.020和P = 0.050）。选择以人为主专业的学生得分显著高于选择以技术为主专业的学生（P = 0.002）。
HMU的受试学生群体表现出较低的同理心水平。因此，建议在医学院课程中纳入同理心教学，以促进专业精神和患者福祉。
