Empathic Tendencies and Empathic Skill Levels of Nursing Students: A Descriptive and Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted to determine empathic tendencies and empathic skill levels of nursing students.Methods: The population of this study consisted of 580 nursing students. Interviews were conducted with 412 students. The data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Empathic Tendency Scale and the Empathic Skill Scale (ESS). Evaluation of the data was performed with calculation, t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA).Results: Among the students, 64.8% (n=267) were within the 20-22 age group, 87.6% (n=361) were female, and 27.2% (n=112) were enrolled in the fourth year. The mean of the Empathic Tendency Scale was 68.84±8.42, and the mean score on the ESS was 139.67±20.11. Empathic Tendency Scale and Empathic Skill Scale scores were statistically significant according to gender, age and class year (p<0.05). The mean scores of the female students on the Empathic Tendency Scale and Empathic Skill Scale were the highest for those in the 23-25 age groups and in the fourth year.Conclusions: The result concluded that mean scores on the Empathic Tendency Scale and Empathic Skill Scale of nursing students were at a medium level. It is important to support students during their professional education.