An Empirical Study on Determining the Communication and Empathy Skill Levels of Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the communication skills and empathy levels of healthcare professionals working in a public hospital in Ankara and to determine the relationship between them.
 Methods: This study, which is based on the field research method, is carried out in order to determine the communication skills and empathy levels of healthcare professionals working in a public hospital in Ankara, and to reveal the relationship between communication skills and empathy level. The data in the study, which was designed as a descriptive field study, was collected by face-to-face questionnaire technique from 385 healthcare workers in Ankara city center between February and March 2021.
 Results: Research findings show that the participants have moderate communication skills and empathy. Communication skills and empathy levels of healthcare professionals do not differ according to their gender. As the weekly working time increases, communication skills and empathy levels decrease. There is a positive and significant relationship between communication skill level and empathy.
 Conclusions: The results of the research indicate that the level of empathy is a positive determinant of communication skills, in other words, as the empathy level increases, the communication skill level increases.