Perceptions and Practices of Medical Interns on Clinical Empathy

Background: Clinical empathy enhances doctor-patient relationships and treatment outcomes, yet its development among medical interns remains underexplored. Objectives: The objective of the study was to assess interns’ perceptions and self-reported practices of clinical empathy in a medical college in Chennai. Material and Methods: A hospital-based, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from August to October 2020 among 117 interns (81.81% of 143) using the Student Version of the Jefferson scale of empathy (JSE-S). Data on demographics, empathy perceptions, and practices were collected through Google Forms after obtaining informed consent. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 20.0. Descriptive statistics, t -tests, Chi-square tests, and logistic regression were used to analyze the effects of gender, age, specialty, and parental medical background. Results: Participants (mean age = 22.66, Standard deviation [SD] = 0.81) had a mean JSE-S score of 79.30 (SD = 14.07). Females (56.4%) scored higher than males (43.6%) in compassionate care (median 35 vs. 32, U = 1378, p = 0.04) and walking in patients’ shoes (median 9 vs. 7, U = 1132, p = 0.003), with empathy practice differing by gender (χ 2 = 7.6044, p = 0.022). Logistic regression identified JSE-S score (odds ratio [OR] = 1.04, p = 0.03) and surgical specialty (OR = 3.12, p = 0.04) as predictors of empathy, not gender or age ( p > 0.54). Death (40.36%) and cancer (36.69%) were primary empathy triggers. Conclusion: Interns exhibit moderate empathy, with gender and specialty influencing perceptions and practices. Lower scores suggest a need for empathy-focused training, such as Medical Humanities, to align with the National Medical Commission’s attitudes, communication, and ethics goals. Qualitative studies could further elucidate these findings.