Abstract
BackgroundThe measurement of empathy is important in the assessment of physician competence and patient outcomes. The prevailing view is that female physicians have higher empathy scores compared with male physicians. In Japan, the number of female physicians has increased rapidly in the past ten years. In this study, we focused on female Japanese physicians and addressed factors that were associated with their empathic engagement in patient care.MethodsThe Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) was translated into Japanese by using the back-translation procedure, and was administered to 285 female Japanese physicians. We designed this study to examine the psychometrics of the JSE and group differences among female Japanese physicians.ResultsThe item-total score correlations of the JSE were all positive and statistically significant, ranging from .20 to .54, with a median of .41. The Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was .81. Female physicians who were practicing in “people-oriented” specialties obtained a significantly higher mean empathy score than their counterparts in “procedure-” or “technology-oriented” specialties. In addition, physicians who reported living with their parents in an extended family or living close to their parents, scored higher on the JSE than those who were living alone or in a nuclear family.ConclusionsOur results provide support for the measurement property and reliability of the JSE in a sample of female Japanese physicians. The observed group differences associated with specialties and living arrangement may have implications for sustaining empathy. In addition, recognizing these factors that reinforce physicians’ empathy may help physicians to avoid career burnout.
Highlights
The measurement of empathy is important in the assessment of physician competence and patient outcomes
We focused on female Japanese physicians, and addressed the factors that were associated with their empathic engagement in patient care
The item mean scores ranged from a low of 4.0 for “because people are different, it is difficult for me to see things from my patients’ perspectives”, to a high of 6.3 for “I believe that empathy is an important therapeutic factor in medical and surgical treatment.”
Summary
The measurement of empathy is important in the assessment of physician competence and patient outcomes. In Japan, the number of female physicians has increased rapidly in the past ten years. In spite of the increasing number of women in medicine, one study reported a marked decline in workforce participation, especially among female physicians in their late 20s and 30s [7]. This is likely due to the conflicting work and family schedules that female physicians experience. It would be desirable to understand female physicians’ concerns for improving this balance so that they can more continue practicing medicine and serving patients. We focused on female Japanese physicians, and addressed the factors that were associated with their empathic engagement in patient care
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