Objective:

To analyze the levels of empathy among medical students attending a philanthropic university, evaluating the evolution of compassionate care, the ability to put oneself in the patient's place and to look at things in perspective, among first-year and final-year medical students.

Methods:

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study with a quantitative approach. Two questionnaires were applied, one with sociodemographic data and the other the Jefferson Scale that evaluates medical empathy. Included in the survey were 152 academics from the first, second and sixth years of a medical course at a philanthropic university in the city of Goiânia/GO.

Results:

The mean age was 22.7 years (± 3.7), 64.5% female and 98.0% single. The majority reported a family income of more than 10 minimum wages (49.3%) and live in their own homes (84.2%). The overall score of the participants was 116.9 (± 13.0) and the final score was 117.1 (± 15.1). As regards compassionate care, the scores were 69.4 (± 8.0) and 68.8 (± 9.4), for the capacity to place themselves in the patient's position, 8.4 (± 3.0) and 8.6 (± 2.9), and looking at things in perspective, 39.1 (± 6.3) and 39.7 (± 6.3), respectively. In the entire sample population the scores were: overall (117.0 ± 13.9), compassionate care (69.1 ± 8.6), putting oneself in the place of the patient (8.5 ± 3.0) and taking a view of things in perspective (39.4 ± 6.3). In relation to “putting themselves in the patient's place” the age scores were: 18 to 24 years old, 8.6; 25 to 29 years of 8.2 and 30 to 45 years of 7.8. The female gender produced higher scores regarding empathy (119.0) and “compassionate care” (70.7).

Conclusion:

The data pointed to a discrete tendency of the graduating students to be more empathic than the newcomers. Sociodemographic data, such as female sex, the absence of personal illness, living in their own home and being a younger age were predictors that indicated greater empathic capacity in the relationship with the patients.

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