The current state of defensive medicine and its association with empathy: a cross-sectional study among graduate students in Guangxi, China
This study demonstrates that empathy is a key determinant of defensive medical practices among master's students. The findings underscore the importance of systematically embedding empathy cultivation within medical curricula. Enhancing empathy education has the potential to mitigate defensive medical behaviors, strengthen physician-patient relationships, and improve both the humanistic orientation and the overall quality of healthcare delivery.
Authors
- Yi Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7960-8374)
- Jun Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7666-8099)
- Yu Cin Deng
- Wenjun Meng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4244-8044)
- Kunxuan Wei
- Xuhua Xie
- Hongliang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6427-1171)
- Wenling Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8420-3793)
- Yue Qiu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2474-8107)
- Xinqiao Lian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3483-2309)
Institutions
- Guangxi Medical University (CN)
- First Affiliated Hospital of GuangXi Medical University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Medical Education
- Published
- 2025-12-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-08366-2
- Primary Topic
- Empathy and Medical Education
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00