Cross-sectional comparative study examining the association between nurses' prior hospitalization and empathy scores

To determine whether prior hospitalization is associated with increased nurse empathy.

This prospective, nonrandomized observational survey used pragmatic sampling. The modified Kiersma Chen Empathy Scale (KCES-R) was used to quantify empathy levels of direct care nurses at a university teaching hospital. Section 1 of the KCES-R focuses on how a health care professional should empathize with patients, whereas Section 2 focuses on the respondent's self-assessment of their empathy with patients. Nurse respondents were divided into two categories based on whether they had experienced prior hospitalization themselves or not. Mean KCES-R values were compared between groups.

Experiencing prior hospitalization did not have a statistically significant association with nurses' mean total empathy scores (P = .2426) or with nurses' perceptions of the necessity of empathizing with patients (P = .8532). However, nurses who previously were hospitalized indicated higher empathy scores on self-assessment than did nurses who had never been hospitalized (P = .0432).

Experiencing prior hospitalization was not associated with nurses' overall empathy or their viewpoints on the necessity of empathy. However, nurses who had previously been hospitalized self-reported having greater empathy with their patients.