The Development of Empathy and Associated Factors during Medical Education: A Longitudinal Study

PURPOSE: In this longitudinal study, we investigated the development of empathy during medical education and assessed potential predictors of empathy at different time points in the course of medical studies. METHODS: In our longitudinal study, starting in 2011, we surveyed medical students at Lubeck Medical School, Germany at the beginning of their course of study and after 2, 4, and 6 years (t0-t3) using standard instruments for empathy (Jefferson Scale of Empathy, Student Version, JSE-S), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS), stress (Perceived Medical School Stress scale), and behavior and experience patterns (Arbeitsbezogene Verhaltens- und Erlebensmuster [Work-related Behavior and Experience Patterns]). RESULTS: A total of 43 students completed all surveys. The cross-sectional samples for the different survey time points comprised between n = 220 and 658 students. We observed a slight, but statistically significant, increase of empathy scores from t0 to t3 (t(43) = -3.09, P < .01). Across all analyses, a preference for a people-oriented specialty was associated with a higher JSE-S sum score, as well as being female, whereas we saw a negative association between HADS depression and JSE-S scores. CONCLUSION: In our study, empathy scores were shown to be relatively stable during medical education with a tendency to increase. In line with previous research, individuals preferring a people-oriented specialty and women showed higher empathy scores.