Evaluation of the relationship between empathy and emotional intelligence in Trakya University Medical Faculty students

In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the relationship between emotional intelligence and empathy and related factors in Trakya University Faculty of Medicine students. The population of our study consisted of 1770 medical faculty students according to the data obtained from the Trakya University Faculty of Medicine. The minimum sample size was determined as 316 people with a 5% margin of error and 95% confidence interval. A total of 411 volunteer students participated in our study. Data were collected through a questionnaire form consisting of 69 questions. The first 18 questions of the questionnaire form consisted of questions to determine the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. In addition, the Cognitive Affective Empathy Scale, which includes 31 questions, and the Emotional Intelligence Trait Scale Short Form, which includes 20 questions, were administered to the participants. Of the participants, 233 (56.7%) were female, 178 (43.3%) were male and the mean age was 21.29±2.5 years. The mean score obtained from the Cognitive Affective Empathy Scale was 90.9±11.02, and the mean score obtained from the Emotional Intelligence Trait Scale Short Form was 91.18±15.6. In our study, a statistically significant correlation was found between gender, monthly household income, family type and the Cognitive Affective Empathy Scale scores. Statistically significant correlation was found between presence of chronic disease, reasons for choosing medical school, and the Emotional Intelligence Trait Scale Short Form. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between emotional intelligence and cognitive empathy and a negative correlation between emotional empathy. Emotional intelligence and empathy seem to vary according to many individual factors. The development of emotional intelligence and empathy skills, which are thought to contribute positively to patient-physician communication and health service quality, can be included more in the medical education curriculum, and studies can be conducted to identify barriers to their development. Keywords: empathy, emotional intelligence, medical students