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 usinga 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 thefourth 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 Scaleand Empathic Skill Scale scores were statistically significant according to gender, age and class year (p<0.05). The mean scores of the female studentson 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 mediumlevel. It is important to support students during their professional education.