The Cognitive and Affective Empathy of Doctor of Physical Therapy Students vs. Specialty Choice

Authors

Bruce W. Newton, Campbell UniversityFollow
Michelle Green, Campbell UniversityFollow
Zachary Vaskalis, Campbell UniversityFollow

Abstract

Purpose: This modified cross-sectional study was performed to determine which specialties DPT students desire to enter, and how affective and cognitive empathy is related to the specialty choice. There are two types of empathy: affective and cognitive. Affective empathy from an emotionally charged situation enters the CNS of a person first and is followed by a cognitive empathic response. Methods: Affective empathy was measured using the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES) and cognitive empathy was measured using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Student (JSE-HPS) version. Each student was asked to indicate which specialty they desired to enter: cardiopulmonary, geriatrics, musculoskeletal/orthopedics, neurology, or pediatrics. The cohort consisted of first, second, and third year DPT students during the 2021-2022 academic year. Each survey instrument was given to each cohort at the start and end of their respective academic year. Results: Most students, regardless of sex or program year, desired to enter a musculoskeletal/orthopedic specialty. Very few enter cardiopulmonary or geriatric specialties. The affective empathy scores of most specialties are at the population norm, except for students entering neurology and pediatrics where their BEES scores are considered “slightly high.” For cognitive empathy scores, males who selected musculoskeletal/orthopedics or neurology had significantly lower JSE-HPS scores than females selecting neurology. Although there is no population norm for cognitive empathy, the JSE-HPS scores can be compared to those of third- and fourth-year osteopathic students in the nationwide Project in Osteopathic Medical Education and Empathy (POMEE) study; in this case, the DPT graduates are at the 52^nd percentile. Conclusions: Similar to other DPT programs, many students desire to enter musculoskeletal/orthopedics, with few selecting cardiopulmonary or geriatrics. Neurology attracts students with higher levels of affective and cognitive empathy. The relative homogeneity of cognitive empathy scores in the various DPT/Physiotherapy programs previously studied suggests similar cadres of students, regardless of where they originate, are being selected to enter the programs.

Author Bio(s)

Bruce W. Newton, PhD

Dr. Newton is the former Professor and Chair of Anatomy at Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine. Since 1996, he has studied how affective or cognitive empathy among health professionals change during their education. He is now an Adjunct Professor of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Campbell University.

Michelle D. Green, PT, DPT

Dr. Green is an Associate Professor and the Assistant Program Director of the Campbell University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. She is an APTA certified specialist in neurologic physical therapy. She has over 35 years of clinical experience.

Zachary T. Vaskalis, PhD

Dr. Vaskalis is an Assistant Professor and the Executive Director of Assessment, Accreditation, and Medical Education at the Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine. He has been the statistician for CUSOM for over ten years and collaborates with Dr. Newton on various empathy studies.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the DPT classes of 2022-2024 for their voluntary participation in this study. BWN thanks Dr. Mehrabian for the use of his BEES survey instrument, and Greg Davis for editorial assistance on the drafts of the manuscript.

Recommended Citation

Newton BW, Green M, Vaskalis Z. The Cognitive and Affective Empathy of Doctor of Physical Therapy Students vs. Specialty Choice. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 2024 Jun 26;22(3), Article 20.