ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S5824

RTT - Education, training, advanced practice and role developments

ESTRO 2024

This study uses the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence questionnaire (SSEIT) and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy – Health Professional Students version (JSE-HPS) to assess undergraduate health science students' emotional intelligence and empathy. The SSEIT measures emotional intelligence across five dimensions: perception, managing own emotions, managing others' emotions, using emotions to facilitate thinking, and understanding emotions. The JSE-HPS assesses empathy levels across three dimensions: perspective-taking, compassionate care, and standing in the patient's shoes. A cross-sectional survey was employed to collect data from undergraduate students enrolled in School of Health Science courses at the University of Newcastle, Australia from May to September 2023. RTT students, alongside eight different health degrees, were invited to participate in this study (Table 1). Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire covering demographic information and the SSEIT and JSE-HPS questionnaires.

Results:

A total of 197 students responded to the survey. Of these, 80.4% of respondents were female. RTT students comprised 30.4% of all participants and have provided the most comprehensive cross-sectional overview of a degree cohort. Only 15% of respondents were identified from culturally diverse backgrounds. Most students (78%) fell within the 18 24 age range. The Mean and standard deviation (SD) of the SSEIT and JSE-HPS scores were calculated to determine the percentage change in scores between first and final-year student cohorts (Table 2). SSEIT results below 111 are considered on the lower normal limit when reviewing EI scores, with scores above 137 considered abnormally high. 3 As seen in Table 2, most first-year cohorts assessed fall just above the lower end of this scale. Mean scores suggest no significant increase or decrease in these levels as students progress through their clinical studies. JSE-HPS results can range from 20 to 140, with higher scores reflecting high levels of empathy. 4 The mean scores across all student cohorts reflect moderately high levels of empathy, ranging from 94 (SD=7.1) to 118.6 (SD=5.7). The mean EI scores for RTTs fell from 115.5 (DS=10) in Year 1 to 112.5 (SD=10.8) in Year 4. This is in line with the other medical radiation sciences, diagnostic radiography and nuclear medicine; occupational therapy, podiatry and speech pathology all showed slight increases in EI over the duration of their respective degrees. In contrast, empathy values increased during the same period for all courses except speech pathology. RTTs showed only a slight 1.6% increase in empathy between the first and final years.