Learning Feedback Journaling and Empathy of Selected National University Nursing Students

Abstract

Nursing empathy is characterized as the ability of the nurse to understand the feelings, experiences, and psychosocial abilities of their patients. (Yu, 2021). There is considerable attention drawn to empathy in Nursing and relevantly the concept is firmly ingrained in all nursing discourse. Reflection as a hands-on experience modality to integrate empathy requires a student to actively engage in analysis, evaluation, and/or creation. (Schumann Scheel, 2017). The use of reflective journaling is a structured approach to direct learners on the process. The study explored the difference in empathy and learning feedback journaling scores before and after among fourth-year nursing students currently taking the course on Care of the Older Adults.  It utilized the Jefferson Empathy Scale Nursing Student Version by Ward, J. (2009). The tool was a modified version of the Jefferson Empathy Scale for Health Profession Version. Descriptive Statistics was used in the demographics of the study participants including Frequency, Percentages, Mean, and Standard Deviations. Empathy scores of nursing students were described using Mean and Standard Deviation. To establish the difference, Mann-Whitney U was utilized.  The Empathy of students has significantly improved before and after the clinical exposure given the two-week rotation. The Learning Feedback Journaling significantly improved the empathy scores of nursing students before and after the clinical exposure. Recommendations emphasized longer clinical exposures to further improve the empathy scores of nursing students and may significantly impact improvement in the quality of learning feedback journaling of students. Enhance History Taking Tool used in the College during discussion and return demonstration to incorporate emotional components as part of assessment parameters. Learning Feedback Journaling may be utilized as a teaching strategy to inculcate the value of empathy in clinical care. The use of non-verbal language by the nurse in the form of touch may manifest empathy at the bedside.