Clinical examiners, simulated patients, and student self-assessed empathy in medical students during a psychiatry objective structured clinical examination.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to assess and compare objective and subjective scores of empathy in final-year medical students by using firstly a validated student self-assessment just prior to the psychiatry objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and then comparing this to clinical examiner's and simulated patient's (SP's) assessments of empathy of students using a Global Rating of Empathy scale (GRE) during a psychiatry OSCE.


METHODS
In 2011, all final-year medical students in the University College Dublin were invited to complete a subjective, self-assessed empathy questionnaire (The Jefferson scale of physician empathy-student version (JSPE-S)). They were also assessed for empathy in four OSCEs by the clinical examiner and the SP acting in that OSCE scenario.


RESULTS
Included in the analysis were 163 of 184 final-year students JSPE-S (88.6%) questionnaires. The female students scores on the JSPE-S were significantly higher than those of their male peers (t=3.34, p=0.001). Concurrent validity was greater between the SPs' assessments of empathy in the OSCE and the JSPE-S score than between the clinical examiners assessments of empathy and the JSPE-S score (r=0.23, p<0.005; r=0.14, p<0.08). Inter-rater reliability of SP's and clinical examiner's using the GRE was found to be high (F=0.868 (df=171, 171), p value<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
SPs may be valid assessors of empathy in medical students during an OSCE.
University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, karenoconnor2@hotmail.com.
Karen
K
O'Connor
Romaine
R
King
Kevin M
KM
Malone
Allys
A
Guerandel
D000328:Adult; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016544:Patient Simulation; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult