Finding Echoes: An Exploration of Empathy Among Physiotherapists and Physiotherapy Students in Singapore

Lim, Elsie Kim Hiok; Loh, Gordon Jian Ting; Ong, Ren Yong; Tan, Rachel Ruizhen; Yan, Clement C.; Huang, Katherin S.; Chan, Melissa; Yeung, Meredith T.

doi:10.1177/20101058211048581

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…In addition, the fact that the students are working or have work experience in another health profession while studying for their degree in physiotherapy means they obtain lower scores on the IRI subscale of personal distress (PD). This issue is closely related to the conclusions of the studies' 3‐5,12 . The results of the aforementioned studies report that health professions students have a less empathic attitude as they advance in their studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Pades‐Jiménez et al 4 said that fourth‐year physiotherapy students present better assertiveness and emotional intelligence development than students in lower years of their physiotherapy courses and that clinical practice has a strong influence. However, in the study by Hiok‐Lim et al, 5 there were no significant statistical contrasts between the empathic level of students and that of professional physiotherapists, but the results are not sufficiently conclusive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…This issue is closely related to the conclusions of the studies'. 3 , 4 , 5 , 12 The results of the aforementioned studies report that health professions students have a less empathic attitude as they advance in their studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“… 21 , 22 , 23 The authors understand that this is an issue to be addressed in future studies with students since, as mentioned in other studies, 2 , 6 , 25 further research on these issues and their development is needed for better student preparation. Even in the comparative study by Hiok Lim et al, 5 to determine the empathic development between physiotherapy professionals and students, there are no relevant conclusions. It is also possible to consider addressing the study of belief systems in a just world and their relationship with empathy in students, as in Zheng et al, 48 since it can open up ways for us to find new answers to improve students' empathic development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This issue is closely related to the conclusions of the studies'. [3][4][5]12 The results of the aforementioned studies report that health professions students have a less empathic attitude as they advance in their studies. clinical experience or more significant contact with healthcare or work reality, as other authors have shown.…”

Section: Pairwise Comparisonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond scientific and technical training: Assessing the relevance of empathy and assertiveness in future physiotherapists: A cross‐sectional study

Hernández‐Xumet,

García‐Hernández,

Fernández‐González

et al. 2023

Health Science Reports

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Background and AimsEmpathy and assertiveness are two essential social skills for a health professional such as a physiotherapist and are necessary for developing moral thinking. Previous studies show that the development of empathy and other social skills improves as students progress in their studies. However, other authors show deterioration of empathy as students progress in their studies and acquire clinical experience. Training in soft skills, such as assertiveness, among health science students will have an impact on the quality of patient care. Effective communication, conflict resolution and the ability to work as part of a team are competencies that have been put to one side as a result of the recent COVID‐19 pandemic and it is important to resume training students in soft skills. The objective of this study is to investigate to determine the empathic and assertive state of physiotherapy university students.MethodsA descriptive cross‐sectional study of physiotherapy university students was conducted in the 2022/2023 academic year. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) scales for empathy and the Rathus test for assertiveness (RAS) were used as study tools. Finally, 127 students participated in the study, 52.91% of the total population of physiotherapy students. The questionnaire was available for 4 weeks in November and December 2022.ResultsThe empathetic and assertive development of the students was found to be acceptable. Significant differences were also observed according to the gender variable in the students, with female students presenting better results (p = 0.01). Students who are working or have clinical experience in other professions score lower on the empathy personal distress subscale (p < 0.001).ConclusionFuture research should be considered to help improve clinical and professional expertise in physiotherapy students about empathic and assertive development. The findings provide new evidence on the levels of empathy and assertiveness in physiotherapy students.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pairwise Comparisonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond scientific and technical training: Assessing the relevance of empathy and assertiveness in future physiotherapists: A cross‐sectional study

Hernández‐Xumet,

García‐Hernández,

Fernández‐González

et al. 2023

Health Science Reports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Applying narrative medicine to prepare empathetic healthcare providers in undergraduate pharmacy education in Singapore: a mixed methods study

Han,

Barton,

et al. 2024

BMC Med Educ

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Background Narrative medicine demonstrated positive impact on empathy in medicine and nursing students. However, this pedagogical approach had not been evaluated in pharmacy education. This study sought to apply and evaluate the narrative medicine approach in extending empathy in Asian undergraduate pharmacy students. Methods Narrative medicine was applied through workshops which used narratives of people with different experiences and perspectives. First-year undergraduate pharmacy students who volunteered and attended these workshops formed the intervention group (N = 31) and the remaining first-year cohort formed the control group (N = 112). A sequential explanatory mixed methods approach was adopted in which quantitative methods were first used to measure impact on pharmacy students’ empathy using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy– Health Professions Student (JSE-HPS), and qualitative methods (i.e. group interviews) were then used to assess pharmacy students’ emotional responses to narratives, and the perspectives of pharmacy students and faculty of this pedagogical approach. Results There was no difference in JSE-HPS scores between intervention and control groups across baseline (i.e. upon matriculation), pre-intervention, and post-intervention timepoints. Pharmacy students in the intervention group had lower scores in Factor 3 (“Standing in People’s Shoes”) following the intervention. Five themes, guided by internal and external factors in cognition, emerged from the Group Interviews: (1) incongruence between students’ motivation and faculty’s perception, (2) learning context, (3) academic context, (4) cognitive system, and (5) affective system. Themes 1, 4 and 5 referred to internal factors such as students’ motivation, perceived learnings, and feelings. Themes 2 and 3 referred to external factors including workshop materials, activities, content, and facilitation. Conclusion This study is the first to demonstrate that pharmacy students engaged with the narrative medicine approach as narratives elicited emotional responses, exposed them to diverse perspectives, and deepened their appreciation of the importance of empathy and complexities of understanding patients’ perspectives. Scaffolded educational interventions using narratives and real-life patient encounters, alongside longitudinal measurements of empathy, are necessary to bring about meaningful and sustained improvements in empathy.

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Comparison of Communication Skills and Empathy Levels of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Students According to Individual and Academic Characteristics: A Cross-Sectional Study

Seçer,

Özer Kaya

2024

HUSBFD

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Objectives: This study aimed to compare the communication skills and empathy levels of physiotherapy and rehabilitation students according to their individual and academic characteristics. Material and Methods: A total of 481 physiotherapy and rehabilitation students (mean age: 20.43±1.85 years) were included in the study. Students' individual and academic characteristics, communication skills and empathy levels were recorded with a survey form structured with the “Google Forms” application. The structured survey form consisted of a short informational text about the study and its purpose, questions about the individual and academic characteristics of the students, and questions from the Communication Skills Scale and Toronto Empathy Scale. Comparison of two independent groups and more than two independent groups means were performed with the independent samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), respectively. When a significant difference was found as a result of comparing the means of more than two groups, Bonferroni correction was used to determine which group caused this difference. Results: It was observed that the communication skills of students who were female (p=0.024), had a democratic family structure (p=0.004), did not have difficulties in interpersonal relationships (p˂0.001), and had a high perceived socio-economic level (p=0.022) were higher. Also, it was concluded that the empathy levels of female students were higher (p˂0.001), while the empathy levels of the 4th grade students were lower (p=0.003). Conclusion: These results revealed that students' communication skills and empathy levels differ according to individual and academic characteristics.

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Finding Echoes: An Exploration of Empathy Among Physiotherapists and Physiotherapy Students in Singapore

Cited by 4 publications

References 40 publications

Beyond scientific and technical training: Assessing the relevance of empathy and assertiveness in future physiotherapists: A cross‐sectional study

Beyond scientific and technical training: Assessing the relevance of empathy and assertiveness in future physiotherapists: A cross‐sectional study

Applying narrative medicine to prepare empathetic healthcare providers in undergraduate pharmacy education in Singapore: a mixed methods study

Comparison of Communication Skills and Empathy Levels of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Students According to Individual and Academic Characteristics: A Cross-Sectional Study

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