Authors evaluate the levels of work engagement and empathy among residents and the association of both characteristics with their evaluation of the faculty’s teaching performance.

A multicenter questionnaire study among 271 surgery and gynecology residents was performed from September 2012 to February 2013. Residents' ratings of the faculty's teaching performance were collected using the system for evaluation of teaching quality (SETQ). Residents were also invited to fill out standardized measures of work engagement and empathy using the short Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, respectively. Linear regression analysis using generalized estimating equations to evaluate the association of residents’ engagement and empathy with residents’ evaluations of teaching performance. Residents’ engagement and empathy appear to be positively associated with their evaluation of the faculty's performance. A possible explanation is that residents who are more engaged and can understand and share others' perspectives stimulate and experience faculty’s teaching better than others.