The Empathy Enigma by Ward, Cody, Schaalm, and Hojat - Research Paper Example

Quantitative Nursing Research PART Problem ment/Purpose In their article “The empathy enigma: An Empirical Study of Decline in Empathy among Undergraduate Nursing Students”, Ward, Cody, Schaal & Hojat (2012) explicitly state the purpose of the quantitative study, as examining empathy changes of undergraduate nursing students over a period of a single academic year. The authors further specify that the study sought to follow a cohort of nursing students undertaking their undergraduate studies, in an effort to evaluate the degree to which empathy changes occurred over one academic year in different student groups with varying clinical experiences involving patients. Review of the Literature The authors examine various literary sources addressing the subject of empathy within the context of nursing. The literary analysis segment begins with a brief overview of empathy and its importance in the care of patients. This significance of empathy in nursing is accentuated when the authors mention that, empathy is virtually the same with the nursing profession and is also linked to the latter’s inception. The article cites authors who have made an attempt to describe the importance of communication or interaction between nurses and patients, while describing importance of human connection to nursing practices and overall patient health. In essence, the article provides credible information derived from past research, on why empathy is deemed on the most important skills in nursing. After effectively informing the reader about the importance of empathy in nursing, the authors delve deeper into the meaning of empathy, as provided by diverse scholars. For example, the article cites an author who considers empathy to be a cognitive, instead of emotional attribute, which involves nurses’ ability to understand, as opposed to feeling, the perspectives, experiences, and concerns of a patient. This definition also encompasses a nurse’s ability to portray the described understanding. Another definition cited in the article stipulates that, nurses must show the intention to assist patients, in addition to observing the previously mentioned characteristics of understanding. The authors emphasize key terms that give the most conclusive definition of empathy including cognition, understanding, communication and intention to help. By exploring these different definitions, the authors form a credible basis for the analysis of their primary purpose, since the reader gets adequate comprehension of the concept to be explored. In addition, the definitions provide insight into the vital nature of empathy to patient care within a clinical setting. Further, understanding the meaning of empathy highlights the main attributes that nurses should take into account and strive to develop, when attempting to foster a therapeutic connection with their patients. In further analysis of available literature on empathy in nursing practice, Ward et al. (2012) explore factors that could be leading to degradation of empathy among nurses, irrespective of the crucial nature of this attribute in improving patients’ health. For example, the article mentions change in healthcare culture characterized by emphasis on cure instead of care, efficiency as opposed to exceptional service, and expertise in technology rather than personal service delivery. The authors are also keen to note that, despite the consensual agreement in nursing scholars on the universal importance of empathy, there is still limited education on empathy and its importance to nursing, as a practice and a profession. Ward et al.’s (2012) article emphasizes the dire nature of this research deficiency, by indicating that there are no experimental studies on empathy among undergraduate nursing students, and its implications in mainstream nursing. As a result, limited attention has been paid to development of empathy and affiliated skills for nurses in their learning phase. By taking note of these research deficiencies, the article effectively identifies the knowledge gaps that exist in studies on empathy in nursing. Consequently, identification of the gaps justifies the importance of research outlined in the article. Theoretical Framework Even though the conceptual framework of the research is not explicitly stated, it can be easily discerned at the beginning of the article. This theoretical frame is evident where the authors state that, the connection between a caregiver and a patient is vital to the science, as well as, art of healing. This theory is further bolstered by the suggestion that the quality of interpersonal interaction between a nurse and a patient defines both the nature of a patient’s experience as a care beneficiary and the patient’s outcomes. The other theoretical implication is that, empathic relations, coupled with the ability of nurses to communicate their understanding ability, often result in positive outcomes on the patient’s part, in terms of greater compliance and satisfaction. These conceptual suggestions serve to show authors’ expectations from the research, and what they hope to prove in the long run. Hypotheses/Research Questions The article addresses two principal questions seeking to examine whether: There are significant variations in empathy or compassion over time among nursing students at the undergraduate level. The degree of students’ exposure to clinical experiences affects empathy changes among the target nursing students. Design The quantitative research takes the form of a longitudinal study. This is feasible and applicable design, since the research is a cohort study requiring repeated measures over a given period of time. However, this design has a primary weakness, in that; change observed could be as a result of experience among other variables that have not been accounted for. Reference Ward, J., Cody, J., Schaal, M., & Hojat, M. (2012). The Empathy Enigma: An Empirical Study of Decline in Empathy among Undergraduate Nursing Students. Journal of Professional Nursing, 28 (1), 34-40. Quantitative Nursing Research Name: Institution: PART 11: Sample The study incorporated two hundred and fourteen apprentice nursing students at the Jefferson School of Nursing and Thomas Jefferson University. The sample stood for 64% of the group of 333 people that finished the pretest (n = 333). 179 people which presented 84% of the participants had complete pretest–posttest data were women while 2 students failed to specify their gender. The number of white/Caucasian was 159 which was 74%compared to 21 African Americans that was a mere 10%. On the other hand, the Asian/Oriental was 18 which were 8% and the remaining 16 students did not disclose their ethnicity comprising of 7%. The participants were gotten from three undergraduate nursing programs. The first group was formed by 120 associate degree students (AND) while the second group comprised of 60 bachelor degree students. The third group comprised of 34 Facilitated Academic Coursework Track (FACT) students. These were students that had earned degrees from other disciplines. The students in the first two groups did not have a lot of experience in clinical experience. FACT students on the other hand had about 6 months in clinical experiences. Data Collection The methodology used in collecting a survey that contained questions on the students’ future career plans demographics, as well as, academic background. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (XSE) was used for measuring empathy among the nursing students. The scale consisted of a brief self-report scale of 20 items, each answering 7-point Likert-type format, from “1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree” and each student was supposed to take approximately ten minutes. Following obtaining approval from the Thomas Jefferson University’s Institutional Review Board the key investigator went forth to distribute the survey to the participating students. The XSE was re-administered to the same students during at the last part of their academic year. Data Analysis The data analysis used a chi-square test in order to compare the demographic variables between complete pretest–posttest data as well as the balance of the group that did not complete the survey. Additionally, a t test was also conducted to correlate the group s well as analyze variance for frequent measure design. These factors were utilized in testing statistical implication of changes in empathy at the time of the study. The pretest–posttest difference was also calculated in terms of empathy scores by using standard deviation. This derived the effect size estimates by utilizing the following formula: [(posttest − pretest) / pretest standard deviation)]. In order to effectively judge the outcome or significant change, the size estimate considered to be effective was less than 0.20 which indicated negligible change. About 0.50 was considered moderate change and any value greater than 0.80 was considerable change. Analysis of Findings/Discussion The results of the study depict a considerable decline in the mean empathy scores for some groups of undergraduate nursing students. This decline was more definite among students with more clinical experiences with patients at the time of the pretest–posttest 1-year interval, as well as, amongst the once with prior work experiences. The first year nursing students spent a substantial amount of time to learn basic clinical skills in the laboratory. However, the students had less clinical time with lower acuity patients, as well as, single patient assignment. In contrast, FACT program students as well as those in their last spent less time in the laboratory. Nevertheless, they spent more time with patients for clinical experiences. This included increased perspicacity and service to a huge number of patients at one time. The nursing students that were in Group 2 and 3 were given more autonomy dealing with patients and received less supervision compared to the once in Group 1 and less supervision by clinical faculty. Conclusions, Implications, Recommendations It is evident that nursing schools have supported teaching types in facilitating acquisition of basic to superior knowledge in nursing while utilizing technology-driven aspects like distance education. This is where students do not necessarily have to meet the faculty face to face. In other worlds they focus on self computerized learning; as well as, clinical simulations. However, numerous of these teaching modes favor effectiveness instead of fostering human connectedness. The principal implication of the research is that it shows the need to leverage the nursing curriculum to properly foster, as well as, develop empathy in nursing students. Therefore, some recommendations that can assist in the issue include increment of the student acquisition of interpersonal skills. This will be achieved by offering training that directs student to recognize “empathic opportunity” especially when communicating with their patients. The students should be encouraged to analyze the audio-or video-taped patient encounters in order to assist the students identify positive, as well as, negative interviewing aspects. The students should also be exposed to positive role models who will improve their empathy capacity. This can be achieved by encouraging role-playing with the students while at the same time, standardizing patients’ low-fidelity simulations in order to improve students’ comprehension and sensitivity to the psychosocial and physical problems of the patients. Reference Ward, J., Cody, J., Schaal, M., & Hojat, M. (2012). The Empathy Enigma: An Empirical Study of Decline in Empathy among Undergraduate Nursing Students. Journal of Professional Nursing, 28 (1), 34-40. Read More