Profiling motivation, stress, and empathy in distinct stages of medical education

Abstract

Medical Education is one of the most demanding disciplines worldwide. Motivation, perceived stress, and empathy are three core structures that shape medical student’s academic performance, psychological well-being, and quality of future patient care. Although these factors have been studied and analyzed separately, there remains a need for complete analysis of all the parameters affecting medical students’ life. This study aims to profile motivation, stress, and empathy among medical students and explore differences across academic years and gender. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Nishtar Medical University, Multan, Pakistan, over six months. Using total population sampling, 320 students from Years 1–5 participated (response rate: 34%). Data were collected using standardized instruments: the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), Perceived Medical School Stress Scale (PMSS), and Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21. Kruskal–Wallis test was used as the primary global comparison to assess differences in total motivation, stress, and empathy scores across the five academic years. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The mean stress score was 29.65 ± 8.16 and the mean empathy score was 41.80 ± 9.86. Mean motivation scores ranged from 87.58 ± 13.91 to 91.98 ± 11.61 across study years. Kruskal-Wallis analysis revealed no significant differences across academic years in motivation (H(4) = 8.429, p = 0.077), stress (H(4) = 2.310, p = 0.679), or empathy (H(4) = 4.131, p = 0.389). No significant gender-based differences were observed in motivation, stress, or empathy responses. No statistically significant differences in motivation, stress perception, or empathy were observed across the five academic years, and no significant gender-based differences were identified. These findings suggest similar patterns of motivation, stress, and empathy among respondents across academic years within this institution. Longitudinal, multicenter studies are needed to confirm these findings and evaluate changes over time.