Patient Perceptions Of Physician Empathy Research Articles

Standardized patient assessment of medical student empathy: ethnicity and gender effects in a multi-institutional study.

To examine, primarily, the effects of ethnicity and gender, which could introduce bias into scoring, on standardized patient (SP) assessments of medical students and, secondarily, to examine medical students' self-reported empathy for ethnicity and gender effects so as to compare self-perception with the perceptions of SPs. Participants were 577 students from four medical schools in 2012: 373 (65%) were white, 79 (14%) black/African American, and 125 (22%) Asian/Pacific Islander. These students were assessed by 84 SPs: 62 (74%) were white and 22 (26%) were black/African American. SPs completed the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE) and the Global Ratings of Empathy tool. Students completed the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and two Interpersonal Reactivity Index subscales. The investigators used 2,882 student-SP encounters in their analyses. Analyses of SPs' assessments of students' empathy indicated significant interaction effects of gender and ethnicity. Female students, regardless of ethnicity, obtained significantly higher mean JSPPPE scores than men. Female black/African American, female white, and female Asian/Pacific Islander students scored significantly higher on the JSPPPE than their respective male counterparts. Male black/African American students obtained the lowest SP assessment scores of empathy regardless of SP ethnicity. Black/African American students obtained the highest mean scores on self-reported empathy. The significant interaction effects of ethnicity and gender in clinical encounters, plus the inconsistencies observed between SPs' assessments of students' empathy and students' self-reported empathy, raise questions about possible ethnicity and gender biases in the SPs' assessments of medical students' clinical skills.

Assessing medical student empathy in a family medicine clinical test: validity of the CARE measure

IntroductionThe Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure developed and validated in primary care settings and used for general practitioner appraisal is a 10-item instrument used by patients to assess doctors’ empathy. The aim of this study is to investigate the validity of the CARE measure in assessing medical students’ empathy during a formative family medicine clinical test.MethodAll 158 final-year medical students were assessed by trained simulated patients (SPs) – who completed the CARE measure, the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), and a global rating score to assess students’ empathy and history-taking ability.ResultsExploratory and confirmatory factor analysis identified a unidimensional structure. The CARE measure strongly correlated with both convergent measures: global rating (ρ=0.79 and <0.001) and JSPPPE (ρ=0.77 and <0.001) and weakly correlated with the divergent measure: history-taking score (ρ=0.28 and <0.001). Internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach’s α=0.94).ConclusionThe CARE measure had strong construct and internal reliability in a formative, undergraduate family medicine examination. Its role in higher stakes examinations and other educational settings should be explored.

Residents’ and standardized patients’ perspectives on empathy: Issues of agreement

ObjectiveWe investigated correlations between residents’ scores on the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE), residents’ perceptions of their empathy during standardized-patient encounters, and the perceptions of standardized patients. MethodsParticipants were 214 first-year residents in internal medicine or family medicine from 13 residency programs taking standardized patient-based clinical skills assessment in 2011. We analyzed correlations between residents’ JSE scores; standardized patients’ perspectives on residents’ empathy during OSCE encounters, using the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy; and residents’ perspectives on their own empathy, using a modified version of this scale. ResultsResidents’ JSE scores correlated with their perceptions of their own empathy during encounters but correlated poorly with patients’ assessments of resident empathy. ConclusionThe poor correlation between residents’ and standardized patients’ assessments of residents’ empathy raises questions about residents’ abilities to gauge the effectiveness of their empathic communications. The study also points to a lack of congruence between the assessment of empathy by standardized patients and residents as receivers and conveyors of empathy, respectively. Practice implicationsThis study adds to the literature on empathy as a teachable skill set and raises questions about use of OSCEs to assess trainee empathy.

Critical Synthesis Package: Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE)

OPEN ACCESSAugust 14, 2013Critical Synthesis Package: Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE) Lindsey Dorflinger, PhD, Kristina Schumann Lindsey Dorflinger, PhD VA Connecticut Healthcare System Google Scholar More articles by this author , Kristina Schumann VA Connecticut Healthcare System Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.9485 SectionsAbout ToolsDownload Citations ShareFacebookTwitterEmail AbstractAbstractThis Critical Synthesis Package contains: (1) a Critical Analysis of the psychometric properties and application to health sciences education of the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), and (2) a copy of the JSPPPE and supplementary files (i.e., reference materials) developed by Mohammadreza Hojat, PhD.The JSPPPE is a 5-item instrument; response options are presented along a 7-point Likert-type scale with 1 being “strongly disagree” and 7 being “strongly agree.” The measure is completed by patients, and is used to assess physician empathy from the patient's perspective. Scores on the JSPPPE have been shown to correlate with provider self-ratings of empathy using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, as well as other measures and items that tap physician empathy. The measure is brief, easy to use, and appears to demonstrate adequate internal consistency reliability and concurrent validity. Little information is provided by developers regarding the development of the scale, including how specific items and the number of scale items were chosen, and the studies utilizing the measure have used a somewhat restricted sample of physicians (i.e., providers working at the institution at which the instrument was developed). Future studies should examine the psychometric properties and utility of the measure in additional samples. Educational Objectives To describe the purpose and basic properties of the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), including number of items and scales, and psychometric properties;To describe the application of the JSPPPE to the field of health sciences education;To evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of the JSPPPE; andTo provide the JSPPPE and supplemental materials to aid in its administration. Sign up for the latest publications from MedEdPORTAL Add your email below FILES INCLUDEDReferencesRelatedDetails FILES INCLUDED Included in this publication: Critical Analysis of the JSPPPE.pdf JSPPPE Instrument.pdf JSPPPE Scoring Instructions.docx To view all publication components, extract (i.e., unzip) them from the downloaded .zip file. Download editor’s noteThis publication may contain technology or a display format that is no longer in use. Copyright & Permissions© 2013 Dorflinger and Schumann. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.KeywordsEmpathyDirectory and Repository of Educational Assessment MeasuresDREAMPhysician-Patient Relations Disclosures None to report. Funding/Support None to report. Loading ...

274 Does Patient Perception of Physician Empathy Affect Patient Compliance in the Emergency Department?

Study Objectives: Previous studies have shown that patients' compliance with physician recommendations and prescriptions is poor. A review article stated that a “cornerstone of the [compliance] model is professional empathy.” Our goal was to measure whether there is correlation between physician empathy and emergency department (ED) patients' self-reported compliance with discharge instructions for self-care, filling of prescriptions and follow-up appointments.

321 Resident Empathy: Is There a Correlation Between the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy?

321 Resident Empathy: Is There a Correlation Between the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy?

Medical Studentsʼ Self-Reported Empathy and Simulated Patientsʼ Assessments of Student Empathy: An Analysis by Gender and Ethnicity

To examine the contribution of students' gender and ethnicity to assessments by simulated patients (SPs) of medical students' empathy, and to compare the results with students' self-assessments of their own empathy. In 2008, the authors used three different tools to assess the empathy of 248 third-year medical students. Students completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE), and SPs completed the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE) and a global rating of empathy (GRE) in 10 objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) encounters. Of the 248 students who completed an end-of-third-year OSCE, 176 (71%) also completed the JSPE. Results showed that women scored higher than men on all three measures of empathy. The authors detected no significant difference between white and Asian American students on their self-report JSPE scores. However, the SPs' assessments on the JSPPPE and on the GRE were significantly lower, indicating less empathy, for Asian American students. A tool for SPs to assess students' empathy during an OSCE could be helpful for unmasking some deficits in empathy in students during the third year of medical school. Because the authors found no significant differences on self-reported empathy, the differences they observed in the SPs' assessments of white and Asian American students were unexpected and need further exploration. These findings call for investigation into the reasons for such differences so that OSCEs and other examinations comply with the guidelines for fairness in educational and psychological testing as recommended by professional testing organizations.

A comparison of medical students’ self-reported empathy with simulated patients’ assessments of the students’ empathy

Background: Empathy is necessary for communication between patients and physicians to achieve optimal clinical outcomes.Aim: To examine associations between Simulated Patients’ (SPs) assessment of medical students’ empathy and the students’ self-reported empathy.Methods: A total of 248 third-year medical students completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE). SPs completed the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), and a global rating of empathy in 10 objective clinical skills examination encounters during a comprehensive end of third-year clinical skills examination.Results: High correlation was found between the scores on the JSPPPE and the global ratings of empathy completed by the SPs (r = 0.87, p < 0.01). A moderate but statistically significant correlation was observed between scores of the JSPE and the JSPPPE (r = 0.19, p < 0.05). Significant differences were observed on the JSPE and global ratings of empathy among top, middle and low scorers on the JSPPPE in the expected direction.Conclusions: While significant associations exist between students’ self-reported scores on the JSPE and SPs’ evaluations of students’ empathy, the associations are not large enough to conclude that the two evaluations are redundant.

Patient perceptions of physician empathy, satisfaction with physician, interpersonal trust, and compliance

ObjectivesThis study was designed to investigate psychometric properties of the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), and to examine correlations between its scores and measures of overall satisfaction with physicians, personal trust, and indicators of patient compliance.Methods: Research participants included 535 out-patients (between 18-75 years old, 66% female). A survey was mailed to participants which included the JSPPPE (5-item), a scale for measuring overall satisfaction with the primary care physician (10-item), and demographic questions. Patients were also asked about compliance with their physician’s recommendation for preventive tests (colonoscopy, mammogram, and PSA for age and gender appropriate patients).Results: Factor analysis of the JSPPPE resulted in one prominent component. Corrected item-total score correlations ranged from .88 to .94. Correlation between scores of the JSPPPE and scores on the patient satisfaction scale was 0.93. Scores of the JSPPPE were highly correlated with measures of physician-patient trust (r >.73). Higher scores of the JSPPPE were significantly associated with physicians’ recommendations for preventive tests (colonoscopy, mammogram, and PSA) and with compliance rates which were > .80). Cronbach’s coefficient alpha for the JSPPPE ranged from .97 to .99 for the total sample and for patients in different gender and age groups.Conclusions: Empirical evidence supported the psychometrics of the JSPPPE, and confirmed significant links with patients’ satisfaction with their physicians, interpersonal trust, and compliance with physicians’ recommendations. Availability of this psychometrically sound instrument will facilitate empirical research on empathy in patient care in different countries.