Empatia comunicativa em estudantes de Medicina: entre a autopercepção e a percepção do outro
Communicative empathy in medical students: between self-perception and the perception of others
Antonio Alexandre de Medeiros Lira; Mauriceia Cassol
Resumo
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Abstract
Purpose: To compare the level of empathy reported by medical students to that perceived by evaluators during simulated medical consultations.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study conducted with 41 medical students. To assess self-perceived empathy, the Empathy Inventory (EI) was used—a 40-item self-report protocol that evaluates empathy based on four factors: Affective Sensitivity (AS), Altruism (AL), Perspective Taking (PT), and Interpersonal Flexibility (IF). To assess empathy from the perspective of others, simulated consultations were conducted in which students performed medical appointments with professional actors. The simulations were video-recorded and evaluated by external judges who were instructed to respond to an adapted version of the CARE Scale (Consultation and Relational Empathy).
Results: Regarding EI scores, the sample showed higher mean scores, respectively, for the following factors: Affective Sensitivity, Altruism, Interpersonal Flexibility, and Perspective Taking. The CARE scale showed a moderate overall mean among the three evaluators. The emotions most frequently identified were fear, sadness, and doubt. No correlation was found between EI and CARE scores. Good internal consistency was observed among the evaluators.
Conclusion: The study showed that although medical students report higher levels of empathy, this skill is not consistently manifested in simulated practice. The absence of correlation between self-reported empathy and observer-rated empathy suggests a possible gap between internal perception and the observable expression of empathy.
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Referências
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Submetido em:
29/03/2026
Aceito em:
08/06/2026
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