Abstract

INTRODUCTION[|]Cultural sensitivity includes the willingness to use cultural information while interacting with patients and to consider culture during discussions and treatment recommendations, as well as understanding and respecting the values, beliefs, and attitudes of patients. Health care providers need to be aware of the culures of their patients and be sensitive to the importance of culture in health. Empathy is defined as a person's understanding of his / her state of mind and thinking by putting himself in his place. Therefore, intercultural sensitivity and empathy level of the students of the Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry constitute one of the main topics of this research. [¤]METHODS[|]In this study these two scales were used such as Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) developed by Chen and Starosta, and Empathy Quotient Scale (EQS) developed by Baron-Cohen et al. It is expected that the ISS and EQS scores of the Term 2 students of Faculty of Medicine (M) and Dentistry (D) will be higher than the students of Term 1. The reason is that the students of Term 2 have taken Medical Ethics in the previous year. [¤]RESULTS[|]There is no significant difference between the students in term 1 and term 2 in ISS and EQS scores. There is no correlation between the total score of ISS and the EQS score. The EQS scores of women in both term 1 and term 2 students are higher than men and this difference is statistically significant. [¤]DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION[|]Since there is no significant difference between the ISS and EQS scores between term 1 and term 2 students, these findings do not support our first hypothesis. Our second hypothesis is not supported, as there is no correlation between the ISS total score and the EQS score. Since the EQS scores of women in term 1 and term 2 students are higher than men and this difference was also significant, our third hypothesis is supported only in terms of EQS.[¤]