Abstract
To our knowledge, there is currently no research examining the levels of empathy among students enrolled in pharmacy or pharmacy services programs in Türkiye. The purpose of the present study was to address this gap in the literature by assessing the empathy levels of students enrolled in the pharmacy and pharmacy services programs at Atatürk University using the Turkish version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-40) measurement tool. The study aims to answer two primary questions: (1) what are the empathy levels of students in the pharmacy services and the pharmacy programs? and (2) are there any differences in empathy levels based on demographic variables such as gender, academic year, and family income? A total of 306 students out of 766 pharmacy program students and 86 students out of 144 students in the pharmacy services program at Atatürk University voluntarily participated in the study. The study utilized a cross-sectional design, administering the Turkish version of the Empathy Quotient to students via a questionnaire delivered through Google Forms. The mean EQ scores for pharmacy and pharmacy services students were 45.8±11.1 and 45.9±12.9, respectively. And there was no statistically significant difference between the empathy scores of two programs. After conducting one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test to investigate the difference between academic year and empathy scores, a significant difference was observed in the pharmacy program, but no significant difference was observed in the pharmacy services program. Our findings showed that empathy scores for pharmacy students were slightly above average, fluctuated throughout their education, and were notably low in recent years. Additionally, empathy scores were slightly above average among students enrolled in pharmacy services program. These findings suggest that both programs should incorporate empathy education into their curricula to enhance students' empathy levels, which in turn would ensure that future professionals possess the necessary skills to communicate effectively with patients and provide optimal care.
Keywords
References
- Barber N, Smith F, Anderson S. 1994. Improving quality of health care: the role of pharmacists. Qual Health Care, 3(3): 153–158.
- Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S. 2004. The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. J Autism Dev Disord, 34: 163-175.
- Bora E, Baysan L. 2009. Empati ölçeği-Türkçe formunun üniversite öğrencilerinde psikometrik özellikleri. Clin Psychopharmacol Bullet, 19(1): 39-47.
- Brizendine L. 2006. The female brain. Harmony/Rodale, New York, USA, pp: 279.
- Ekong G, Kavookjian J, Hutchison A. 2017. Predisposition for empathy, intercultural sensitivity, and intentions for using motivational interviewing in first year pharmacy students. Am J Pharm Educ, 81(8): 5989.
- Fashami FM, Nili M, Mottaghi M, et al. 2023. Measuring empathy in Iranian pharmacy students using the jefferson scale of empathy-health profession student version. Am J Pharm Educ, 87(2): ajpe8687.
- Fjortoft N, Van Winkle LJ, Hojat M. 2011. Measuring empathy in pharmacy students. Am J Pharm Educ. 75(6):109.
- Fong ZW, Lee SS, Yap KZ, et al. 2021. Impact of an aging simulation workshop with different debrief methods on the development of empathy in pharmacy undergraduates. Curr Pharm Teach Learn, 13(6): 683-693.
- Hall M, Hanna L-A, Hanna A, et al. 2015. Empathy in UK pharmacy students: assessing differences by gender, level in the degree programme, part-time employment and medical status. Pharm Educ, 15.
- Hammer DP, Mason HL, Chalmers RK, et al. 2000. Development and testing of an instrument to assess behavioral professionalism of pharmacy students. Am J Pharm Educ, 64(2): 141-151.
- Hasan SS, Babar MG, Kai K, et al. 2013. An assessment of pharmacy students’ empathy levels in Malaysia. J Adv Pharm Educ Res, 3(4):531-540.
- Jeon S, Cho E. 2015. Assessment of Korean pharmacy students’ empathy using the Jefferson scale of empathy. Am J Pharm Educ, 79(5): 67.
- Kaplan SH, Greenfield S, Ware Jr JE. 1989. Assessing the effects of physician-patient interactions on the outcomes of chronic disease. Med Care, 27(3): 110-127.
- Kerr JL, Stahnke AM, Behnen EM. 2015. Assessing empathy and self-efficacy levels of pharmacy students in an elective diabetes management course. Am J Pharm Educ, 79(3): 42.
- Leape LL, Cullen DJ, Clapp MD, et al. 1999. Pharmacist participation on physician rounds and adverse drug events in the intensive care unit. JAMA, 282(3): 267-270.
- Li L, Wang J, Hu X-m, et al. 2015. Empathy in Chinese pharmacy undergraduates: Implication for integrating humanities into professional pharmacy education. Indian J Pharm Educ Res, 49(1): 31-39.
- Lonie JM, Alemam R, Dhing C, et al. 2005. Assessing pharmacy student self-reported empathic tendencies. Am J Pharm Educ, 69(2).
- Lonie JM. 2006. From counting and pouring to caring: the empathic developmental process of community pharmacists. Res Soc Adm Pharm, 2(4): 439-457.
- Lor KB, Truong JT, Ip EJ, et al. 2015. A randomized prospective study on outcomes of an empathy intervention among second-year student pharmacists. Am J Pharm Educ, 79(2): 18.
- Moudatsou M, Stavropoulou A, Philalithis A, et al. 2020. The role of empathy in health and social care professionals. Healthc, 8(1): 26
- Nunes P, Williams S, Sa B, et al. 2011. A study of empathy decline in students from five health disciplines during their first year of training. Int J Med Educ, 2: 12-17.
- Pratiwi H, Ari Kristina S, Wahyuni Widayanti A, et al. 2023. Pharmacy students' empathy and its determinants: a systematic review. F1000Res, 12: 18.
- Reed BN, Haines ST, Holmes ER. 2021. The impact of two longitudinal professionalism courses on student pharmacists’ empathy. Am J Pharm Educ, 85(2): 8083.
- Sales I, Jonkman L, Connor S, et al. 2013. A comparison of educational interventions to enhance cultural competency in pharmacy students. Am J Pharm Educ, 77(4): 76.
- Simko LC, Rhodes DC, Gumireddy A, et al. 2021. Effects of a chronic pain simulation empathy training kit on the empathy of interprofessional healthcare students for chronic pain patients. Clin Simul Nurs, 56: 66-75.
- Van Hooser J, Swanson S, Conway JM, et al. 2022. Assessing pharmacy students' baseline tolerance for ambiguity, burnout, empathy, quality of life, and stress. Curr Pharm Teach Learn, 14(8): 966-971.
- Van Winkle LJ, Fjortoft N, Hojat M. 2012. Impact of a workshop about aging on the empathy scores of pharmacy and medical students. Am J Pharm Educ, 76(1): 9.
- Walker PC, Marshall VD, Sweet BV, et al. 2022. Longitudinal measurement of empathy in student pharmacists. Am J Pharm Educ, 86(7): 8752.
- Wilson S, Tordoff A, Beckett G. 2010. Pharmacy professionalism: A systematic analysis of contemporary literature (1998-2009). Pharm Educ, 10(1): 27-31.
- Zeind CS, McCloskey WW. 2006. Pharmacists’ role in the health care system. Harvard Health Policy Rev, 7(1): 147-154.
Abstract
To our knowledge, there is currently no research examining the levels of empathy among students enrolled in pharmacy or pharmacy services programs in Türkiye. The purpose of the present study was to address this gap in the literature by assessing the empathy levels of students enrolled in the pharmacy and pharmacy services programs at Atatürk University using the Turkish version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-40) measurement tool. The study aims to answer two primary questions: (1) what are the empathy levels of students in the pharmacy services and the pharmacy programs? and (2) are there any differences in empathy levels based on demographic variables such as gender, academic year, and family income? A total of 306 students out of 766 pharmacy program students and 86 students out of 144 students in the pharmacy services program at Atatürk University voluntarily participated in the study. The study utilized a cross-sectional design, administering the Turkish version of the Empathy Quotient to students via a questionnaire delivered through Google Forms. The mean EQ scores for pharmacy and pharmacy services students were 45.8±11.1 and 45.9±12.9, respectively. And there was no statistically significant difference between the empathy scores of two programs. After conducting one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test to investigate the difference between academic year and empathy scores, a significant difference was observed in the pharmacy program, but no significant difference was observed in the pharmacy services program. Our findings showed that empathy scores for pharmacy students were slightly above average, fluctuated throughout their education, and were notably low in recent years. Additionally, empathy scores were slightly above average among students enrolled in pharmacy services program. These findings suggest that both programs should incorporate empathy education into their curricula to enhance students' empathy levels, which in turn would ensure that future professionals possess the necessary skills to communicate effectively with patients and provide optimal care.
Keywords
References
- Barber N, Smith F, Anderson S. 1994. Improving quality of health care: the role of pharmacists. Qual Health Care, 3(3): 153–158.
- Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S. 2004. The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. J Autism Dev Disord, 34: 163-175.
- Bora E, Baysan L. 2009. Empati ölçeği-Türkçe formunun üniversite öğrencilerinde psikometrik özellikleri. Clin Psychopharmacol Bullet, 19(1): 39-47.
- Brizendine L. 2006. The female brain. Harmony/Rodale, New York, USA, pp: 279.
- Ekong G, Kavookjian J, Hutchison A. 2017. Predisposition for empathy, intercultural sensitivity, and intentions for using motivational interviewing in first year pharmacy students. Am J Pharm Educ, 81(8): 5989.
- Fashami FM, Nili M, Mottaghi M, et al. 2023. Measuring empathy in Iranian pharmacy students using the jefferson scale of empathy-health profession student version. Am J Pharm Educ, 87(2): ajpe8687.
- Fjortoft N, Van Winkle LJ, Hojat M. 2011. Measuring empathy in pharmacy students. Am J Pharm Educ. 75(6):109.
- Fong ZW, Lee SS, Yap KZ, et al. 2021. Impact of an aging simulation workshop with different debrief methods on the development of empathy in pharmacy undergraduates. Curr Pharm Teach Learn, 13(6): 683-693.
- Hall M, Hanna L-A, Hanna A, et al. 2015. Empathy in UK pharmacy students: assessing differences by gender, level in the degree programme, part-time employment and medical status. Pharm Educ, 15.
- Hammer DP, Mason HL, Chalmers RK, et al. 2000. Development and testing of an instrument to assess behavioral professionalism of pharmacy students. Am J Pharm Educ, 64(2): 141-151.
- Hasan SS, Babar MG, Kai K, et al. 2013. An assessment of pharmacy students’ empathy levels in Malaysia. J Adv Pharm Educ Res, 3(4):531-540.
- Jeon S, Cho E. 2015. Assessment of Korean pharmacy students’ empathy using the Jefferson scale of empathy. Am J Pharm Educ, 79(5): 67.
- Kaplan SH, Greenfield S, Ware Jr JE. 1989. Assessing the effects of physician-patient interactions on the outcomes of chronic disease. Med Care, 27(3): 110-127.
- Kerr JL, Stahnke AM, Behnen EM. 2015. Assessing empathy and self-efficacy levels of pharmacy students in an elective diabetes management course. Am J Pharm Educ, 79(3): 42.
- Leape LL, Cullen DJ, Clapp MD, et al. 1999. Pharmacist participation on physician rounds and adverse drug events in the intensive care unit. JAMA, 282(3): 267-270.
- Li L, Wang J, Hu X-m, et al. 2015. Empathy in Chinese pharmacy undergraduates: Implication for integrating humanities into professional pharmacy education. Indian J Pharm Educ Res, 49(1): 31-39.
- Lonie JM, Alemam R, Dhing C, et al. 2005. Assessing pharmacy student self-reported empathic tendencies. Am J Pharm Educ, 69(2).
- Lonie JM. 2006. From counting and pouring to caring: the empathic developmental process of community pharmacists. Res Soc Adm Pharm, 2(4): 439-457.
- Lor KB, Truong JT, Ip EJ, et al. 2015. A randomized prospective study on outcomes of an empathy intervention among second-year student pharmacists. Am J Pharm Educ, 79(2): 18.
- Moudatsou M, Stavropoulou A, Philalithis A, et al. 2020. The role of empathy in health and social care professionals. Healthc, 8(1): 26
- Nunes P, Williams S, Sa B, et al. 2011. A study of empathy decline in students from five health disciplines during their first year of training. Int J Med Educ, 2: 12-17.
- Pratiwi H, Ari Kristina S, Wahyuni Widayanti A, et al. 2023. Pharmacy students' empathy and its determinants: a systematic review. F1000Res, 12: 18.
- Reed BN, Haines ST, Holmes ER. 2021. The impact of two longitudinal professionalism courses on student pharmacists’ empathy. Am J Pharm Educ, 85(2): 8083.
- Sales I, Jonkman L, Connor S, et al. 2013. A comparison of educational interventions to enhance cultural competency in pharmacy students. Am J Pharm Educ, 77(4): 76.
- Simko LC, Rhodes DC, Gumireddy A, et al. 2021. Effects of a chronic pain simulation empathy training kit on the empathy of interprofessional healthcare students for chronic pain patients. Clin Simul Nurs, 56: 66-75.
- Van Hooser J, Swanson S, Conway JM, et al. 2022. Assessing pharmacy students' baseline tolerance for ambiguity, burnout, empathy, quality of life, and stress. Curr Pharm Teach Learn, 14(8): 966-971.
- Van Winkle LJ, Fjortoft N, Hojat M. 2012. Impact of a workshop about aging on the empathy scores of pharmacy and medical students. Am J Pharm Educ, 76(1): 9.
- Walker PC, Marshall VD, Sweet BV, et al. 2022. Longitudinal measurement of empathy in student pharmacists. Am J Pharm Educ, 86(7): 8752.
- Wilson S, Tordoff A, Beckett G. 2010. Pharmacy professionalism: A systematic analysis of contemporary literature (1998-2009). Pharm Educ, 10(1): 27-31.
- Zeind CS, McCloskey WW. 2006. Pharmacists’ role in the health care system. Harvard Health Policy Rev, 7(1): 147-154.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences |
| Journal Section | Research Article |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | July 1, 2023 |
| Submission Date | May 31, 2023 |
| Acceptance Date | June 23, 2023 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2023 Volume: 6 Issue: 3 |
