Abstract
Abstract: Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) and empathy are two essential skills for person-centered Medicine. Objectives: To evaluate the association between EI and empathy and to assess whether sociodemographic factors and year at the medical school influence the level of EI and empathy. Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in medical students from a private educational institution in the city of São João del-Rei, Minas Gerais, Brazil. EI levels were assessed using the Schutte Self-report Emotional Intelligence Test and empathy levels were assessed using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (student version). All volunteers signed the Informed Consent Form before inclusion in the study. The statistical analysis used mean values, standard deviation, frequency distribution, Student’s t test, Pearson’s correlation, and linear regression. A significance level of 0.05 was considered. Results: From August 5 to 30, 2019, 193 volunteers, corresponding to 85.8% of the total population, agreed to participate in the study. The total EI (129.8 ± 13.3) and empathy (121.2 ± 11.6) observed scores were high. EI scores were influenced only by age (padjusted = 0.018). Students attending more advanced semesters had higher total empathy scores (padjusted = 0.013). Students whose parents did not have a higher education degree also had a higher total empathy score (padjusted = 0.031). A moderate positive correlation was observed between the total EI and empathy scores ( ρ =0.304, p<0.001) and between the total empathy score and the EI domain Managing Others’ Emotions ( ρ =0.300, p<0.001). A weak positive correlation was also observed between the total EI score and most of the empathy domains. Conclusion: A positive correlation between emotional intelligence and empathy was observed. The age influenced EI and the year of medical school and parental schooling influenced empathy.
Highlights
Emotional intelligence (EI) and empathy are two essential skills for person-centered Medicine
The idea of emotional intelligence has its roots in the concept of social intelligence, first described by Thorndike in 1920, who defined that intelligence as“the capacity to perceive internal states and one’s own reasons and behaviors, as well as the others’, and to act on them appropriately based on that information”[4]
Most students had both parents with a high education degree (88 45.6%), 61 (31.6%) had only one of them with a high education degree and 42 (21.8%) had neither with a high education degree
Summary
Emotional intelligence (EI) and empathy are two essential skills for person-centered Medicine. Emotional intelligence and empathy are key concepts for organizing the interpersonal and communication skills[1,2] Both emotional intelligence and empathy are the basis for the capacity to recognize emotions and affective messages in others, build a therapeutic alliance, effectively communicate with patients and their family members and create a good doctor-patient relationship. In Medicine, EI has been considered very important, especially regarding the careful management of emotions, which is necessary in the practice and daily care of patients[5] During their training, medical students witness situations of pain and suffering on a daily basis, experienced by their patients and family members, and must be able to face these situations, helping them, but at the same time understanding and differentiating the pain of the other from their own pain. It is important that during their training they are able understand the emotions and feelings of the other, show that they understand them and how they understand them, and that they can perceive, feel and experience these emotions and feelings without being overwhelmed by them, while always maintaining dominance and control of their own emotions[1]
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