ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND Empathy is one of the pillars of professionalism in the medical field associated with better patient satisfaction and outcome. This study aimed to assess and compare the empathy score with other institutes within and outside India using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student version (JSE-S). METHODS We did a cross-sectional study for undergraduate medical students and interns of Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, for 4 months from October 2019. Voluntary participants completed the JSE-S, an internationally validated 20-item survey questionnaire. RESULTS The mean empathy score of 575 voluntary participants out of 631 was 100.75, with women having higher and significant scores than men (F 102.1 [11.5]; M 98.3 [12.5]; p<0.001). The highest empathy score was observed in the first year (102 [10.8]), which increased and decreased in different years of medical education with a maximum dip in the second year (99.4 [11.5]). The choice of specialty of participants showed a lower significant difference as per the JSE-S score. A lower empathy score was identified among participants compared to medical students studying in international medical institutes. CONCLUSION There is a need to organize workshops with training modules to cater to the empathy aspect of professional care, as a continuous process, starting from the first year till the completion of internship.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND Implementation of the exit examination for medical graduates in India has been debated for many years. The national exit test (NEXT), under the construct of the National Medical Commission Act, would serve two purposes: first, it will be a common exit/licentiate examination for all Indian medical graduates, and second, it will be a test for postgraduate selections for all specialties. There has been no research or evidence on stakeholders’ opinion on this test. We aimed to assess the perspective of medical faculties, nationwide, regarding the implementation of NEXT. METHODS We conducted a nationwide, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based pilot survey. The Google survey form with close- and open-ended questions was forwarded via email and WhatsApp to various groups. RESULTS Two hundred and forty-five medical teachers participated, of which 35.9% were from Gujarat, 44.9% were working in government colleges, 91.43% had MD/MS as the highest professional degree, 50% had >15 years of experience and were from different medical specialties. The majority felt that the NEXT examination was a positive step, 82.5% suggested that a national selection/testing authority should conduct it, 36.3% suggested having the test after internship while 32.7% expected some weightage for each year of the medical programme, and 84.1% agreed that all the learning domains should be assessed by various strategies. DISCUSSION Faculties welcomed the NEXT examination under a national testing authority. The necessity of this examination is to have uniform standards and quality for medical graduates irrespective of their institutes. Assessment of all the domains will make the Indian medical graduate more competent for the job or residency programmes.