Examination of the empathy scores of students enrolled in a faculty of dentistry

Abstract

Background: To examine the empathy scores of undergraduate and postgraduate students studying at Atatürk University Faculty of Dentistry. Methods: A total of 465 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in Atatürk University’s Faculty of Dentistry during the 2024-2025 academic year participated in the study. A questionnaire form was administered digitally to these students, including 11 questions addressing sociodemographic characteristics and the 20-question Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student Version (JSPE-S) to assess the students’ empathy scores. Results: The mean empathy score for all students was 83.90±13.67. Male students had significantly higher empathy scores than female students (p=0.001). In terms of maternal education, students with mothers with postgraduate education had significantly higher empathy scores than students with mothers with lower education levels (p=0.004). Conclusion: This study revealed that dental students and young professionals generally had high levels of empathy, but these levels varied depending on certain personal factors. Empathy training could enable students to communicate more effectively with patients.