Investigation of the Relationship between Empathy and Burnout Levels of Nursing Students

Aim: This research was designed todetermine the relationship between empathy and burnout levels of nursingstudents.

Method: The population of this descriptive andcross-sectional research consisted of 1294 students studying at a NursingFaculty in the 2016-2017 academic year and the sampling consisted of 290nursing students who were selected by the stratified random sampling method.Data were collected using the “Structured Question Form”, the “Empathic SkillScale B-Form” and the “Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Form”. Writtenpermission and ethical approval were obtained from the faculty where theresearch would be conducted. Data analysis was performed using the descriptiveand significance analysis in the SPSS 21.00 program.

Results: 84.1% of the students were female,and the average age was 20.28±1.47. It was determined that the mean score ofthe Empathic Skill Scale B-Form was 143.86±23.93, and that the mean scores ofthe sub-dimensions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Form were15.11±4,69 in burnout, 9.34±3.62 in depersonalization, and 12.78±2.67 incompetency. There is a statistically significant relationship between theEmpathic Skill Scale score of nursing students and the Depersonalizationsub-dimension score of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (p<0.05).

Conclusion: It was determined that theburnout and empathy skills of nursing students were at a moderate level andthat some socio-demographic characteristics affected their empathy and burnoutlevels.

Cite this article as: Turan, N., Kaya, H.,Özsaban, A., Özdemir-Aydın, G., Özçelik, K. ve Güneş, E. (2019). Investigationof the relationship between empathy and burnout levels of nursing students. FNJNFlorence Nightingale Journal of Nursing, 27(2), 119-132.