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Clinical Examiners, Simulated Patients, and Student Self-assessed Empathy in Medical Students During a Psychiatry Objective Structured Clinical Examination

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Abstract

Objectives

This tudy aims to assess and compare objective and subjective scores of empathy in final-year medical students by using firstly a validated student self-assessment just prior to the psychiatry objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and then comparing this to clinical examiner's and simulated patient's (SP’s) assessments of empathy of students using a Global Rating of Empathy scale (GRE) during a psychiatry OSCE.

Methods

In 2011, all final-year medical students in the University College Dublin were invited to complete a subjective, self-assessed empathy questionnaire (The Jefferson scale of physician empathy—student version (JSPE-S)). They were also assessed for empathy in four OSCEs by the clinical examiner and the SP acting in that OSCE scenario.

Results

Included in the analysis were 163 of 184 final-year students JSPE-S (88.6 %) questionnaires. The female students scores on the JSPE-S were significantly higher than those of their male peers (t = 3.34, p = 0.001). Concurrent validity was greater between the SPs’ assessments of empathy in the OSCE and the JSPE-S score than between the clinical examiners assessments of empathy and the JSPE-S score (r = 0.23, p < 0.005; r = 0.14, p < 0.08). Inter-rater reliability of SP's and clinical examiner's using the GRE was found to be high (F = 0.868 (df = 171, 171), p value <0.001).

Conclusions

SPs may be valid assessors of empathy in medical students during an OSCE.

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Disclosures

On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding authors states that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Karen O′Connor & Kevin M. Malone

  2. St. Vincent′s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

    Romaine King & Allys Guerandel

  3. Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

    Karen O′Connor

Authors
  1. Karen O′Connor
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  2. Romaine King
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  3. Kevin M. Malone
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  4. Allys Guerandel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen O′Connor.

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O′Connor, K., King, R., Malone, K.M. et al. Clinical Examiners, Simulated Patients, and Student Self-assessed Empathy in Medical Students During a Psychiatry Objective Structured Clinical Examination. Acad Psychiatry 38, 451–457 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-014-0133-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-014-0133-8

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