Enhancing Nursing Students' Compassion, Empathy and Communication Through Mindfulness-Based Meditation: A
Tuba Sengul1, Aleyna Özkan1, Ayşe Eminoğlu2
1School of Nursing, Koç University, Istanbul, Türkiye.
Nursing Open
|November 25, 2025
Summary
Mindfulness-based compassion meditation significantly improved nursing students' compassion and communication skills. While emotional empathy scores increased, the change was not statistically significant, indicating potential benefits for professional development.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Mindfulness Studies
- Healthcare Professional Development
Background:
- Nursing students require strong compassion, empathy, and communication skills for effective patient care.
- Traditional nursing curricula may not adequately address the development of these crucial soft skills.
- Mindfulness-based compassion meditation (MB-CM) offers a potential avenue for cultivating these attributes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of an 8-week online MB-CM program on nursing students' compassion, emotional empathy, and communication abilities.
- To explore students' subjective experiences with MB-CM through qualitative methods.
- To assess the feasibility of integrating MB-CM into nursing education.
Main Methods:
- An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was utilized with 53 nursing students.
- Quantitative data were collected pre- and post-intervention using the Compassion Competence Scale (CCS), Multidimensional Emotional Empathy Scale (MEES), and Communication Skills Scale (CSS).
- Qualitative data were gathered through focus group discussions with 20 participants to explore their experiences.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements were observed in compassion (CCS) and communication skills (CSS) (p < 0.05).
- Emotional empathy (MEES) scores showed an upward trend but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.297).
- Qualitative themes included personal reflections, self-compassion awareness, emotional regulation, and perceived benefits for relationships and professional practice.
Conclusions:
- MB-CM effectively enhances compassion and communication skills in nursing students, contributing to their professional and emotional growth.
- The intervention shows promise for improving nursing students' resilience and readiness for patient-centered care.
- Integrating MB-CM into nursing education can foster essential skills for healthcare professionals and potentially improve patient outcomes.
Keywords:
communication skillscompassion meditationempathymental health well‐beingmindfulness‐based interventionsnursing studentspatient‐centred careMore Related Videos
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