Empathic attitudes among nursing students: a preliminary study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Psychology
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Empathic approach is crucial for nurse-patient therapeutic relationships.
• Previous research indicates female nursing students possess higher empathy than males.
• Both genders may experience empathy decline during nursing studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate self-reported emotional empathy levels in undergraduate nursing students.
• To compare empathy levels between first and second-year nursing students.
• To investigate gender differences in empathy among nursing students.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES) for assessment.
• Administered the BEES to 142 nursing students in the 2015/16 academic year.
• Collected data at the beginning of the first year (T0) and mid-second year (T1).

Main Results:

• A longitudinal group of 99 students showed a slight decrease in BEES scores from T0 to T1.
• Female students consistently reported significantly higher mean BEES scores than male students.
• 118 students participated in the first survey and 99 in the second.

Conclusions:

• Preliminary data suggest a trend of declining empathy in nursing students as their course progresses.
• Higher empathy levels were observed in female students compared to males.
• Further research is needed to confirm this decline and explore its underlying causes.