The first Russian experience of the final year students' communicative competence assessment with the Jefferson Scale of Empathy

• Sergey V. Gatsura
• Oxana A. Gatsura
• Vladimir G. Deriushkin

Abstract

This paper is focused on the first time experience of professional empathy assessment in final year students using the Russian version of Jefferson Scale of Empathy. Anonymous voluntary cross-sectional study was conducted in September-December 2018 in the A.I. Yevdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation. The sample consisted of 161 medical and 183 dental students. The mean empathy score was almost identical in medical (96.1±15.7) and dental (97.5±14.4) students with sufficient internal scale consistency in both groups (α=0.81 and 0.74 respectively). No gender or professional orientation empathy score differences were detected. The 3 factor structure of the scale differed from that previously described by the developers of this instrument. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy proved to be a valuable tool for quantitative evaluation of professional empathy, though further re-validation of Russian version would be most useful.

Keywords:professional empathy, medical education, Jefferson Scale of Empathy

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