Abstract
BackgroundEmpathy is a central competence for nursing students in delivering compassionate care. Empathy training might improve the communication skills in children's nursing students. ObjectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of the Knowledge, Simulation, and Sharing training programme on empathy skills among children's nursing students. DesignA controlled pre-post intervention study with a quasi-experimental design. SettingTertiary children's hospital in China. ParticipantsChildren's nursing students (n = 250) in clinical internship. MethodsA Knowledge, Simulation, and Sharing (KSS) module related to empathy learning was developed and tested during a 10-month period in 2017. Nursing students were divided into an experimental group (n = 125) and control group (n = 125). Both groups received the standard internship programme. The experimental group received the KSS training. Outcome measures were: Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Student, Clinical Communication Competence Scale and Professional Identity Scale. ResultsAt the end of the internship the experimental groups had significantly higher empathy scores than the control group (114.57 versus 110.36; p = .016). The communication skills improved significantly in the experimental group after the training; experimental group mean 90.22 versus control group mean 87.41 (p = .042). The professional identity scores were significantly higher in the experimental group at the end of the internship compared to the control group (mean 116.43 versus 107.68; p < .001). Subgroup analysis revealed only significant differences on professional identity outcomes between experimental and control groups on diploma level (mean 115.78 versus 107.72; p < .001); and bachelor's level (mean 120.05 versus 108.00; p < .016). ConclusionThe KSS training can enhance empathy and communication skills and the professional identity in children's nursing students. Further long-term effectiveness of the training needs to be tested, ideally with reported outcomes measures of children and parents.
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