The Effects Of Empathy Training On The Empathy,Emotional Intelligence And Coping-style Of New Employed Nurses

Objective To explore the effects of empathy training on the empathy, emotional intelligence and coping-style of new employed nurses, providinge a new reference for the training curriculum of new employed nurses.Methods①Using the cognitive behavioral theory and empathy theory as the theoretical framework, the empathy training course was worked out by synthetically using literature searching and expert consulting.②A total of82participants from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were divided into the intervention group and the control group randomly (n=41). On the basis of conventional clinical guidance, the intervention group was conducted empathy training intervention in small groups(10-12participants per group), which included7courses,60minutes per course, and strategies for teaching included lecture, scenario simulation, case discussions and role playing. The control group was only conducted conventional clinical guidance, which included the introductions of rules and regulations, work environment and workflow, the individual guidance of management the nurse-patient relationship.③The outcome of empathy, emotional intelligence and coping-style were evaluated at pre-intervention, post-intervention immediately and3month after intervention, by using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-Chinese (IRI-C), Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ).④T-test, Nonparametric test (Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon signed-rank test), Chi-square test, Spearman correlation and Repeated measures analysis of variance were performed by SPSS13.0.Results①The total score of IRI-C of82new employed nurses was (53.33±7.49), item’s average score was (2.42±0.34).②The total score of IRI-C was significantly correlated with the total score of EIS(r=0.389, P<0.01).③The results of repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that the intervention effects on the total score of IRI-C were significant (P<0.01), in other word, the total score of IRI-C of the intervention group was higher than that of the control group. The time effects on the score of IRI-C were significant(P<0.05), statistical differences in score of IRI-C were identified at each time point,and interaction diagram indicated that the total score of IRI-C of new employed nurses declined over time. There was significant interaction between time and intervention(P<0.05), suggesting the decrease degree of empathy was lower in intervention group than that of control group over time.④The results of repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated that the intervention effects on the total score of EIS were significant (P<0.01), in other word, the total score of EIS of the intervention group was higher than that of the control group. The time effects on the total score of EIS were significant(P<0.01), statistical differences in total score of EIS were identified at each time point, and interaction diagram indicated that the total score of EIS of new employed nurses declined over time.There was not significant interaction between time and intervention(P>0.05).⑤The results of repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated that the intervention effects and time effects on the score of SCSQ were not significant (P>0.05).Conclusions①There was positive relationship between empathic ability and emotional intelligence of new employed nurses.②The level of empathy, emotional intelligence of new employed nurses declined over working time.③Empathy training can improve new employed nurses’ empathic ability and their emotional intelligence effectively, but its intervention effects can not be sustained.④Empathy training had little effect on new employed nurse’s coping style.