Vol. 19 No. 1 (2020)
Literature Review

Study of the variables that contribute to the level of empathy in medical students

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  • Natália da S. Fontana,
  • Ana Amélia F. Vilela,
  • Aridiane A. Ribeiro,
  • Verônica C. Ferreira,
  • Geovana M. Peres,
  • Mathias R. Macedo,
  • Nataly C. S. e Souza,
  • Niulane R. Carrijo,
  • Sanmer J. S. Ferreira,
  • Adriana A. Carvalho
Natália da S. Fontana
Graduação em medicina, Universidade Federal de Jataí, Jataí, Goiás, Brasil.
Ana Amélia F. Vilela
Unidade Acadêmica Especial Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Jataí, Jataí, Goiás, Brasil.
Aridiane A. Ribeiro
Unidade Acadêmica Especial Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Jataí, Jataí, Goiás, Brasil.
Verônica C. Ferreira
Unidade Acadêmica Especial Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Jataí, Jataí, Goiás, Brasil.
Geovana M. Peres
Graduação em medicina, Universidade Federal de Jataí, Jataí, Goiás, Brasil.
Mathias R. Macedo
Graduação em medicina, Universidade Federal de Jataí, Jataí, Goiás, Brasil.
Nataly C. S. e Souza
Graduação em medicina, Universidade Federal de Jataí, Jataí, Goiás, Brasil.
Niulane R. Carrijo
Graduação em medicina, Universidade Federal de Jataí, Jataí, Goiás, Brasil.
Sanmer J. S. Ferreira
Graduação em medicina, Universidade Federal de Jataí, Jataí, Goiás, Brasil
Adriana A. Carvalho
Unidade Acadêmica Especial Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Jataí, Jataí, Goiás, Brasil.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12957/bjhbs.2020.53532

Published 2020-07-03

Keywords

  • Medicine,
  • Academic Medical Center,
  • Empathy

How to Cite

1.
Natália da S. Fontana, Ana Amélia F. Vilela, Aridiane A. Ribeiro, Verônica C. Ferreira, Geovana M. Peres, Mathias R. Macedo, Nataly C. S. e Souza, Niulane R. Carrijo, Sanmer J. S. Ferreira, Adriana A. Carvalho. Study of the variables that contribute to the level of empathy in medical students. BJHBS [Internet]. 2020 Jul. 3 [cited 2024 Oct. 11];19(1):57-62. Available from: https://bjhbs.hupe.uerj.br/bjhbs/article/view/113

Copyright (c) 2020 Brazilian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Introduction: Empathy is defined as a psychological process guided by mechanisms that encompass the affective, cognitive and behavioral spheres regarding the observation of the other’s experience, essential to the medical field in establishing trust between doctor and patient. Objectives: To identify the variables that can influence the levels of empathy during medical graduation, such as gender, year of graduation and choice of medical specialty. Materials and Methods: The databases: BIREME, PubMed and Google Scholar were consulted for the review. The criteria for inclusion were the languages, period of publication (2007-2018), and thematic match, and exclusion of articles that evaluated the rates of empathy with professionals and students of medical residency. Results: Results were diversified, from the claim that the degree of empathy did not change over the years in medical school until that level changed between the first and sixth year among students, in which the notable fall in empathy levels prevailed after the third year of graduation, significantly in males. Conclusions: It was observed that during graduation in medical courses there is a reduction in empathy levels, during the clinical cycle, something that negatively affects the doctor-patient relationship, promoting difficulties in communication and patient adherence to treatment.

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