Empathy levels among dental students in India

Background: Empathy is a fundamental value in health care. The present study was conducted to assess the empathy levels among students and assess the difference in empathy levels across gender and year of study and also to improve their attitude and skills towards the patients and their quality of service to enhance the dentist-patient relationship. Materials and Methods: Cross sectional descriptive studywas conducted to assess the level of empathy using a validated, self-administered questionnaire Jefferson Scale of Empathy, Health Care Provider Student version (JSE-HPS) in this study. Results: A total of 300 dental students and Interns participated in the present study; the mean empathy score among the male dental students was 84.4 and among thefemale dental students was 84.5. Conclusion: Mean empathy score among the male and female dental Students showed less difference however empathy should be given importance in dental curriculum toimprove dentist-patient relationship,thereby achieving optimal outcome in patient care.