BACKGROUND: Physician empathy is an effective therapeutic component of patient-physician communication. It is thus essential to develop and sustain it throughout medical school to equip the would be physicians with this attribute throughout their clinical careers. However, several studies have shown that empathy levels of medical students decline overtime.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the empathy score across medical school years of students in the University of the Philippines College of Medicine.

METHODOLOGY: First through fifth year medical students enrolled in the College of Medicine for the school year 2014 to 2015 and who consented to participate were included.

DESIGN: Analytical cross sectional study of medical students at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine in 2014.

DATA COLLECTION: The primary measure of empathy used was the Jefferson Scales of Empathy--Student Version (JSE-S), a 20-item psychometrically validated instrument measuring components of empathy among medical students in patient care situations.

RESULTS: Mean empathy scores significantly varied across year level, sex and age group (P<0.05). The significant difference in the adjusted mean empathy scores was seen between the first and third year levels (117.0 vs. 108.1 P<0.05) and first and fifth year levels (117.0 vs. 107.1 P=0.04). The mean empathy score of female medical students as compared to male medical students was higher (114.4 vs. 109.8 P=0.002). Difference in empathy scores were noted between the less than 22 and 25-27 age groups (115.2 vs. 104.5 P=0.006). While there was a note of decrease in the empathy scores among students who chose"technology- oriented"specialties from"people-oriented"specialties, the difference was not statistically significant. (112.2 vs 113.2 P=0.942).

CONCLUSION: Empathy scores of the medical students in the University of the Philippines College of Medicine declines across year levels.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Empathy ; Personality ; Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms ; Students, Medical

OBJECTIVES: This study explored the differences in their ego defense mechanisms between adolescents with conduct disorder and normal adolescents. METHODS: Subjects were 35 adolescents with conduct disorder and 44 normal adolescents. The Ewha Defense Mechanism Test (EDMT), consisting of 200 items and 20 scales, was administered, to examine the defense mechanisms of both groups of adolescents. RESULTS: Normal adolescents presented statistically significantly higher scores on the reaction formation, controlling, suppression, anticipation, dissociation, and distortion scales than did adolescents with conduct disorder. Zn addition, adolescents with conduct disorder used neurotic defense mechanisms of both neurotic and mature levels less frequently than normal adolescents did. Factor analysis revealed that, normal adolescents had higher scores on ego-expansive factor scales and behavior control factor scales thanadolescents with conduct disorder did. CONCLUSION: The results suggest adolescents with conduct disorder use mature and ego-expansive defense mechanisms less frequently than do normal adolescents.
Adolescent ; Behavior Control ; Conduct Disorder ; Defense Mechanisms ; Dissociative Disorders ; Ego ; Humans ; Weights and Measures