Comparative empathy in male and female medical students: A cross-sectional, online, and survey-based study

Abstract

Background: Empathy is a capability of a person to observe a subject and recognize and briefly feels the subject’s emotional state based on visual and aural inputs. Empathy is an important quality for doctors as they are involved in patient care. Aims and Objectives: We aimed to assess the level of empathy in a sample of students studying MBBS and compare the empathy according to gender. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional observational study carried out by an online survey. Medical students of our college were invited to participate in this survey. We collected data from up to 50 males and 50 females for a comparative test. The eight-item form of the empathy quotient-8 was used to assess the level of empathy among students. Scores between male and female students were compared by unpaired t-test. Result: A total of 50 males and 50 females participated in this study. Their mean age was 20.12 ± 2.14 years. One-sample t-test showed that overall students have more than average level of empathy. The gender-wise comparison showed that there was no difference in empathy between male and female students. Conclusion: From this study, we can conclude that medical students have more than average level of empathy and there is no gender difference in the level of empathy. However, this was an experience from a single institution. Further studies may be conducted to ascertain the level and comparative level of empathy between males and females with a large sample taken from different Indian states.