Gender differences in the expression and cognition of empathy among nursing students: An educational assessment study.

BACKGROUND: In the medical context, previous studies found that female care providers present more empathy with patients than their male counterparts. Yet, the explanatory mechanisms for such a difference are not fully explored. PURPOSE: Guided by the message design logics, this study looked to assess the differences in the expression of empathy by male and female nursing students. METHODS: The data included transcripts of conversations between 343 undergraduate nursing students and a virtual patient. RESULTS: Study hypothesis, which was supported, predicted that when presented with opportunities to express empathy female students will use such opportunities more frequently than male students. RQ1 assessed the level of empathic responses and showed no differences between male and female students. RQ2 focused on the cognitive models of empathy and showed that female students had more complex maps that included a larger number and levels of empathy-related concepts. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: While both male and female students could benefit from education and support in effective expression of empathy, tailored education could promote the recognition of opportunities to be empathic among male students. Clinical communication skill training programs should consider gender-sensitive interventions to support and promote male nurse empathy skills.

Demographic and spatial trends in diabetes-related virtual nursing examinations.

Diabetes currently affects nearly 30 million Americans, but the distribution of cases is not uniform across all demographics or every state. In the course of their education, nurses learn how to become important conduits for information on diabetes management during their eventual interactions with patients. Exploring the status and trends of diabetes-related knowledge in nursing students is one method to explore the idea that one's community affects how one sees disease. However, they are not yet experts, which places them in a period of transition. This study used data mined from the Shadow Health Digital Clinical Experience™ virtual patient exams conducted by nursing students between the years of 2012 and 2015 to find any potential demographic or spatial trends within simulation performance results from nursing students who examined a virtual patient with self-managed diabetes. Findings of the analysis indicated that age and experience affected the way in which an examination was conducted, where older and more experienced nursing students asked 8% fewer examination questions, yet showed 32% more empathy and offered 76% more educational statements than their younger counterparts. Spatial trends were less pronounced, although deeper analysis revealed that students in states closer to the national mean for population rate with diabetes perform better, show more empathy, and offer more educational statements during examinations compared to states well above or well below the national mean. This suggests that targeted information may be preferable to "one-size-fits-all" public health awareness and education programs for diabetes programs used uniformly across the country.