Table 1 Factor structures for perceived empathy of medical students in clinical clerkships (N = 247)
Items | Question | Mean | SD | Factor loadings | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Perspective taking | Compassionate care | Standing in patients’ shoes | ||||
Item 16 | Physicians’ understanding of the emotional status of their patients, as well as that of their families, is one important component of the physician–patient relationship. | 5.563 | 0.960 | 0.860 |  |  |
Item 17 | Physicians should try to think like their patients in order to render better care. | 5.417 | 1.020 | 0.837 | Â | Â |
Item 15 | Empathy is a therapeutic skill without which the physician’s success is limited. | 5.190 | 1.217 | 0.810 |  |  |
Item 20 | I believe that empathy is an important therapeutic factor in the medical treatment. | 5.510 | 1.100 | 0.792 | Â | Â |
Item 13 | Physicians should try to understand what is going on in their patients’ minds by paying attention to their nonverbal cues and body language. | 5.405 | 1.103 | 0.754 |  |  |
Item 2 | Patients feel better when their physicians understand their feelings. | 5.749 | 0.934 | 0.709 | Â | Â |
Item 10 | Patients value a physician’s understanding of their feelings which is therapeutic in its own right. | 5.130 | 1.243 | 0.699 |  |  |
Item 4 | Understanding body language is as important as verbal communication in physician–patient relationships. | 5.729 | 0.977 | 0.672 |  |  |
Item 5 | A physician’s sense of humor contributes to a better clinical outcome | 5.389 | 1.014 | 0.671 |  |  |
Item 14 | I believe that emotion has no place in the treatment of medical illness. (R) | 5.619 | 1.266 | Â | 0.859 | Â |
Item 8 | Attentiveness to patients’ personal experiences does not influence treatment outcomes. (R) | 5.360 | 1.327 |  | 0.857 |  |
Item 12 | Asking patients about what is happening in their personal lives is not helpful in understanding their physical complaints. (R) | 5.514 | 1.331 | Â | 0.852 | Â |
Item 9 | Physicians should not try to stand in their patients’ shoes when providing care to them. (R) | 5.555 | 1.357 |  | 0.848 |  |
Item 7 | Attention to patients’ emotions is not important in history taking. (R) | 5.445 | 1.384 |  | 0.838 |  |
Item 11 | Patients’ illnesses can be cured only by medical or surgical treatment; therefore, physicians’ emotional ties with their patients do not have a significant influence in medical or surgical treatment. (R) | 5.150 | 1.364 |  | 0.788 |  |
Item 19 | I do not enjoy reading nonmedical literature or the arts. (R) | 5.304 | 1.335 | Â | 0.701 | Â |
Item 3 | It is difficult for a physician to view things from patients’ perspectives (R) | 3.879 | 1.260 |  |  | 0.901 |
Item 6 | Because people are different, it is difficult to see things from patients’ perspectives. (R) | 3.510 | 1.300 |  |  | 0.899 |