Level of Empathy Amongst Undergraduate Medical and Dental Students in India: A Cross-sectional Study

Objective The aim of the study is to measure the levels of empathy amongst undergraduate dental and medical students across various universities in India, exploring factors that influence these levels to provide insights into enhancing empathy training in healthcare education. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 926 students from government and private medical and dental colleges in India. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) was used to measure clinical empathy. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20, with t-tests and ANOVA applied to assess associations between empathy levels, demographics, academic years, and specialty preferences. Pearson’s χ² test was used for further comparisons. Results The overall mean empathy score was 102.8 ± 15.9, with higher scores in female students (104.8 ± 14.9) than males (91.4 ± 19.4). Empathy scores were highest among fourth-year students, while second-year students and those beyond the fourth year had the lowest. Higher scores were observed in students preferring people oriented specialties, such as pediatrics and internal medicine. Conclusion While most nursing students exhibited good awareness of therapeutic communication, a notable proportion displayed knowledge gaps. The findings emphasize the need for targeted communication training and curricular modifications in nursing programs to enhance therapeutic communication skills and improve patient care outcomes.