title: Empathy levels among first year Malaysian medical students: an observational study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The literature indicates that medical practitioners experience declining empathy levels in clinical practice. This highlights the need to educate medical students about empathy as an attribute early in the academic curriculum. The objective of this study was to evaluate year one students' self-reported empathy levels following a 2-hour empathy workshop at a large medical school in Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Changes in empathy scores were examined using a paired repeated-measures t-test in this prospective before and after study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyzing the matched data, there was a statistically significant difference and moderate effect size between mean empathy scores before and 5 weeks after the workshop (112.08±10.67 versus 117.93±13.13, P<0.0001, d=0.48) using the Jefferson Scale Physician Empathy (Student Version).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this observational study indicate improved mean self-reported empathy scores following an empathy workshop.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sunway Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Sivalal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sadasivan
authors.affiliation: Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sunway Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Amudha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kadirvelu
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Olaussen
keywords: Malaysia; empathy; medical students