Empathy in medical students as related to gender, year of medical school and specialty interest

The existence of empathy in the physician-patient clinical relationship enables a positive impact on interactions and is an essential aspect of care quality associated with patient satisfaction and adherence to treatment. The purpose of this research is to determine the students‟ empathy level over the course and their different specialty interests. This cross-sectional study involved a sample of 208 undergraduate medical students who responded to the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy – Student Portuguese Version (JSPE-spv). The results show that female students outscore men on the empathy level which increases throughout the six year course. The people-oriented specialty group also showed higher scores.