RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Exploring levels of empathy and assertiveness in final year physiotherapy students during clinical placements.
A1 Marrero González, Cristo Manuel
A1 Hernández Xumet, Juan Elicio
A1 García Hernández, Alfonso Miguel
A1 Fernández González, Jerónimo Pedro
K1 Physical therapy
K1 Learning
K1 Health occupations students
K1 Empathy
K1 Assertiveness
AB Empathy and assertiveness are two essential soft skills for any healthcare professional’s competence and ethical development. It has been shown that empathy can be influenced throughout the training of a future healthcare professional, particularly during the clinical placement period. This research aims to assess fourth‑year physiotherapy students’ empathic and assertive development before and after clinical placement. A longitudinal observational study was conducted with fourth‑year physiotherapy students during the academic year 2022/2023. A preliminary assessment of empathy and assertiveness levels was carried out before the start of the clinical placement and at the end of the placement using the Individual Reactivity Index to assess empathy and the Rathus Test to assess assertiveness. The results show a statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) in both the empathy subscales of perspective‑taking and empathic‑concern between the pre‑ and postassessment, as well as an inverse correlation between the empathy subscale of personal distress and assertiveness. It is concluded that students show adequate results in empathy and assertiveness. However, there is some influence of clinical practice on the development of empathy, and future intervention studies need to be considered. Furthermore, students with higher levels of assertiveness have lower levels of personal distress, suggesting that assertiveness is closely related to empathy.
SN 2045-2322
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/39659
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/39659
LA en
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 26-abr-2025