Compassionate communication levels of nursing students: Predictive role of empathic skills and nursing communication course.

PURPOSE: This study aims to determine the compassionate communication levels of nursing students and the predictive roles of empathic skills and nursing communication courses. DESIGN AND METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted with 430 nursing students and data were analyzed using a descriptive information form, Compassionate Communication Scale (CCS), and Empathic Skill Scale (ESS). FINDINGS: A positive relationship was found between the students' ESS and CCS scores (r = .23 p = 0.001). Empathic skills (ß = 0.43, p = 0.001), predicted compassionate communication (ß = 0.23, p = 0.001), compassionate conversation (ß = 0.43, p = 0.001), and compassionate touch (ß = 0.18, p = 0.001). PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Skills of compassion and empathy positively affect each other; therefore, it is important to adopt strategies that strengthen the empathic skills of nursing students during academic education and to include empathy and compassion in the curriculum.