A comparison of Doctor of Physical Therapy students' self-reported empathy with standardized patients perceptions of empathy during a simulated telehealth encounter
Date
2022
Authors
Holmes, Mary Beth
Starr, Julie Ann
Version
Published version
OA Version
Citation
M.B. Holmes, J.A. Starr. 2022. "A Comparison of Doctor of Physical Therapy Students' Self-Reported Empathy With Standardized Patients Perceptions of Empathy During a Simulated Telehealth Encounter." Journal of Patient Experience, Volume 9, pp.23743735221112226-. https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735221112226
Abstract
Empathy is an important factor in developing a positive patient-provider relationship. It has been shown to lead to improved patient outcomes, well-being, and satisfaction. This study examines the relationship between first-year physical therapy students' self-reported empathy levels and a patient's perceptions of caregiver empathy during a standardized patient interview via telehealth. Forty-five students completed a self-reported empathy survey before the standardized patient encounter using telehealth. Following the experience, standardized patients rated the perceived empathy demonstrated by the students during that patient-provider encounter using 2 validated measures. The mean student self-reported empathy using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Care Provider Student (JSE-HPS) version was 123.93 (range 95-135 SD 7.328). The standardized Jefferson Scale of Patient Perception of Provider Empathy (JSPPPE) scores showed a mean of 23.8 (range 11-32 SD 3.951) and a mean of 3.16 (range 1-5 SD.85) on the Global Rating of Empathy (GRE). There was no significant correlation found between the JSE-HPS and the JSPPPE, r = -.47, P = .760, or the GRE r = -.166, P = .276. The artificial nature of a standardized patient interaction using the telehealth format for this encounter may have contributed to the students' inability to communicate empathy to the patient and may explain this discrepancy.
Description
License
© The Author(s) 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).