RESEARCH ARTICLE
Self-Reported Empathy among Nursing Students at a University in Jordan
Diala Altwalbeh1, *, Abdullah Mousa Khamaiseh2, Abdulnaser Algaralleh3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2018Volume: 12
First Page: 255
Last Page: 263
Publisher ID: TONURSJ-12-255
DOI: 10.2174/1874434601812010255
Article History:
Received Date: 09/09/2018Revision Received Date: 26/10/2018
Acceptance Date: 20/11/2018
Electronic publication date: 31/12/2018
Collection year: 2018
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background:
Empathy is recognized as a highly valued professional characteristic in the nurse-patient relationship. Undergraduate nursing students are taught the importance of empathic relationships. Studies have been undertaken to explore the concept of empathy among nursing students, but there have been no investigations in Jordan or in the Arab world.
Purpose:
The aim of this study is to assess the level of self-reported empathy in undergraduate nursing students at Mutah University.
Research Design:
A cross-sectional study was undertaken using a paper-based version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. A convenience sample of 202 students was recruited from first, second, third and fourth year.
Results:
The mean score was 92.9, lower than scores reported in other studies. Results showed that female students’ empathy scores were significantly higher than male students, and there was a significant increase in empathy scores by study year.
Conclusion:
There is an urgent need for reforming the nursing curriculum with a focus on empathy skills.