Abstract / Summary
Caring behaviors are fundamental to healthcare delivery, yet preliminary research suggested potential gaps in how medical students describe their caring attributes. This exploratory study investigated self-rated caring capacity, emotional detachment, burnout prevalence, and perceived structural barriers among 55 osteopathic medical students across training years using a mixed-methods cross-sectional survey. Participants reported high self-assessed caring capacity (mean ≈ 8/10) and overwhelmingly rejected inherent caring deficits (92.7%). However, 90.9% reported burnout, 76.4% experienced frequent emotional detachment, and 83.6% identified hierarchical structures and rigid professionalism as key barriers constraining caring expression. Statistical analysis revealed a significant association between emotional detachment and lower caring self-assessment (p=0.037). Qualitative findings highlighted desensitization, defensive distancing, and academic pressure. Medical students report high self-assessed caring capacity, yet experience systemic and cultural pressures that constrain their caring self-perception. These exploratory findings suggest implications for medical education, highlighting the value of addressing structural obstacles and evaluative pressures rather than attempting to remediate inherent student empathy.