Abstract
Abstract Background This study investigates the manifestation of empathy among nursing students and teachers during virtual patient training with VR glasses at the Medical Simulation Training Centre of Medical University - Plovdiv. The pilot training, conducted from March 22 to April 12, 2024, was part of the Erasmus+ project ‘Caring violent child safely in child psychiatric and residential units (Safe4Child) 2021-1-FI01-KA220-HED-000032106.’ Participants were divided into two focus groups: third-year nursing students and lecturers teaching specialized academic disciplines in nursing. Results A total of 34 participants partook in the study, comprising 16 instructors with basic nursing education and 16 third-year nursing students. Students exhibited considerable empathy towards the virtual child patient, expressing an inclination to provide assistance, acknowledging the necessity for personalized care, and displaying a curiosity about the patient’s experiences. They conveyed sentiments such as ‘I felt the need to help the child/patient’, ‘the child needs individual work with a nurse’ and ‘I want to understand the child’s experiences.’ In contrast, instructors demonstrated more reserved emotional responses, characterized by professionalism and a focus on offering comfort. They expressed, ‘Normal feelings...but you want to hug the child and comfort him.’ Conclusions The study unveiled a marked difference in empathy expression between students and instructors, with students displaying stronger emotional reactions. These findings underscore the need to recognize and address individual variances in empathy expression within nursing education. Tailored strategies should be devised to bolster empathy development in both students and instructors during virtual patient training. Further investigation is warranted to explore effective methodologies for optimizing empathy development and fostering compassionate patient care in nursing education. Key messages • A Comparative Analysis of Nursing Students and Instructors Using VR Glasses. • Erasmus+ project (Safe4Child) 2021-1-FI01-KA220-HED-000032106.
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