Year: 2026 | Month: March | Volume: 16 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 108-113
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20260313
Empathy among Undergraduate Medical Students and Its Relationship with Academic Performance
Danish Rastogi1, Abhishek Kumar Singh2, Shraddha Singh3
1,2,3Department of Physiology, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, UP, India.
Corresponding Author: Dr. Danish Rastogi
ABSTRACT
Background:Empathy is a vital attribute for physicians, facilitating effective communication and improving patient care. However, several studies report a decline in empathy as students progress through medical school. This study assessed empathy levels among undergraduate medical students and examined their correlation with academic performance.
Methodology:A cross-sectional study was conducted on 291 MBBS students (first year to internship) at King George’s Medical University, Lucknow. Empathy was measured using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), which assesses four subscales: Perspective Taking, Empathic Concern, Fantasy, and Personal Distress. Academic performance was assessed using the percentage obtained in the most recent professional examination. Statistical analysis included one-way ANOVA, independent t-tests, and Pearson correlation. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results:The overall mean IRI empathy score among students was 63.17 ± 6.03. A significant decline in empathy scores was observed across academic years, decreasing from 65.07 ± 6.12 in first-year students to 59.25 ± 4.02 in interns (p = 0.00053). When comparing genders across all batches, no significant difference in total empathy scores was found between males (62.93 ± 9.45) and females (63.49 ± 8.44) (p > 0.05). Additionally, no significant correlation was observed between empathy scores and academic performance, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of r = −0.089 (p > 0.05).
Conclusion:Empathy scores decreased significantly as students advanced in their medical education, but no significant relationship was found between empathy and academic performance. These findings underscore the need for curricular interventions to preserve empathy during medical training.
Key words: Physician-patient relationship, academic performance, interpersonal reactivity index, medical students, empathy.