Empathy and big five personality model in medical students and its relationship to gender and specialty preference: a cross-sectional study

Background:Given the influence that personality can have on empathy, this study explores the relationshipbetween empathy and personality, using three different measures of empathy, and taking into account gender andspecialty preference.Methods:Cross-sectional study. One hundred and ten medical students completed the Jefferson Scale of PhysicianEmpathy, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the Empathy Quotient, and the NEO-FFI Big Five personality model.Multivariable linear regression was performed to assess the association between personality traits and empathy.Results:Empathy scales showed weak and moderate correlation with personality. The strongest correlations wereobserved between IRI-Fantasy and Openness, and between IRI-Personal Distress and Neuroticism. Gender andspecialty preference can modify this relationship. The extreme groups of Empathy Quotient had significantdifferences in most personality traits.Conclusions:This study confirmed that empathy is related to personality. Using three empathy scales allowspersonalizing the evaluation of different empathy models and its relation with personality. These results can help todesign programs to study if some personalized intervention strategies could improve the empathy in medicalstudents

Increase of burnout among emergency department professionals due to emotional exhaustion during the SARS-Cov2 pandemic: Evolution from 2016 to 2021

The objective is to establish there have been any significant changes in the evolution of levels of burnout and empathy at the different Emergency Department in our region, bearing the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic. This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a healthy region between November 2020 and January 2021. Lleida emergency care centers. All the doctors and nurses of the health were contacted by email. Empathy was measured using the Spanish version of the Jefferson scale of physician empathy. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) in the version validated in Spanish. Sociodemographic data were also recorded. We compared the data with 2016 results. A total of 159 professionals agreed to participate in this study. A significant increase in the MBI score was observed in the 2020 to 2021 sample (39.5 vs 49.7), mostly due to an increase in the MBI-EE (21.5 vs 28.5), as well as an increase in the Jefferson scale of physician empathy score (112 vs 116). (P = .039). There were no differences when analyzing the association between professions (nurses or doctors) or years worked, burnout, and empathy. For 2020 to 2021, the 41 to 50 years age group showed the highest burnout (MBI score). Emergency department practitioners suffered more burnout compared to 2016, especially due to emotional exhaustion (P < .001). Despite practitioners’ improved degree of empathy, which had been described as being preventative against burnout, during the COVID-19 pandemic, over-involvement may have led to empathic stress and emotional exhaustion, giving rise to greater burnout

Use of decision trees algorithm for the territorial logistic planning.

Data mining, and in particular decision trees have been used in different fields: engineering, medicine, banking and finance, etc., to analyze a target variable through decision variables. The following article examines the use of the decision trees algorithm as a tool in territorial logistic planning. The decision tree built has estimated population density indexes for territorial units with similar logistics characteristics in a concise and practical way

Logistic groups in the Republic of Panama

A map of the logistic groups in the Republic of Panama and complementary maps of the distribution of the population density, GDP density, the economic activity "transport, storage and communications", and the primary and secondary road network are presented. The clusters of territorial groups on each map were analyzed and created using the "decision tree" data mining method in order to determine territorial groups with similar characteristics, including logistics infrastructure and nodes, socioeconomics and the environmental situation. At the reference scale of 1:800,000 these maps represent a planning tool to decision makers in land use matters

Occupational burnout and empathy influence blood pressure control in primary care physicians

Background: Good physician-patient communication can favor the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits, which is essential in high blood pressure (BP) management. More empathic physicians tend to have lower burnout and better communication skills. We analyzed the association between burnout and empathy among primary care physicians and nurses and investigated the influence on BP control performance. Methods: Descriptive study conducted in 2014 investigating burnout and empathy levels in 267 primary care physicians and nurses and BP control data for 301,657 patients under their care. We administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy and defined good BP control as a systolic BP <130 mmHg. Results: Low burnout and high empathy were observed in 58.8% and 33.7% of practitioners, respectively. Burnout and empathy were significantly negatively associated (p < 0.009). Practitioners with high empathy and low burnout had significantly better BP control and performance than those with low empathy and high burnout (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Low burnout and high empathy were significantly associated with improved BP control and performance, possibly in relation to better physician/nurse-patient communication. Keywords: Hypertension, Primary Care, Bioethics, Doctor-Patient Relation, Faculty Developmen