Submission ID 77810
| Code | OB-4-4 |
|---|---|
| At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: | |
| Category | Medical Education |
| Type | Oral |
| Will the presenter be a: | Resident |
| Title | Exploring Self-Esteem and Empathy During Clerkship in Medical Students |
| Background/Purpose | In clerkship, students are susceptible to receiving difficult feedback and having poorer social relationships, which has been linked to low self-esteem. High self-esteem has a positive correlation with greater empathy. The evidence for changes in empathy after starting clinical training is mixed. Our purpose was to discover if the self-esteem of medical students and the relationship between self-esteem and empathy changes after clinical training. |
| Methods | A prospective cohort study was conducted on 208 medical students in the same year. Surveys were distributed at the onset and end of clerkship, which included demographic data, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE). The relationship between the independent identity variables (age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation) and the dependent variables was explored using independent linear regression models. Independent t-tests on RSES and JSE scores were performed and association between them was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC). |
| Results | 82, then 57 students responded to the early and later clerkship surveys. Only visible minority status was included in the early clerkship linear regression model (r2=0.07). No variables met the threshold in later clerkship. The JSE scores decreased marginally after clerkship. The RSES scores had a statistically significant decrease from early (mean=18.9) to later clerkship (mean=16.7). The PCC at the beginning and end of clerkship was 0.035 and 0.35 respectively. |
| Discussion | Age, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation minimally affect empathy and self-esteem in clerkship students. Self-esteem appears to decrease after clerkship and has low correlation with empathy. |
| Keyword 1 | Self-esteem |
| Keyword 2 | Clerkship |
| Keyword 3 | Medical Students |
| Abstract content most relevant to: (check all that apply) | Undergraduate Medical Education |
| Abstract Track - First Choice | Physician & Medical Student Health and Well-being |
| Authors | Samantha Yang Samantha Yang Keyna Bracken Thomas Alexander |
