Level of empathy in nursing students attending clinical practices of the universidad de ciencias y humanidades

Empathy in the care of the patient by the nursing students is important because it allows having the capacity of response towards the patient, this study aimed to determine the level of empathy in nursing students who attend in clinical practices of the Universidad de Ciencias y Humanidades. This is a cross-sectional study, with a population of 289 nursing students who answered a questionnaire and the Jefferson medical empathy scale. 210 participants (72.7%) had a medium level of empathy, 74 participants (25.6%) with a high level of empathy and 5 participants (1.7%) with a low level of empathy. Regarding the empathy dimensions, the high level in the perspective taking dimension predominated with 81.7%, followed by the average level of the capacity dimension to put oneself in the patient's place with 59.9% and the compassionate care dimension predominated in the low level with a percentage of 45%. An improvement program is required in terms of professional training so that nursing students can carry out compassionate care when performing their clinical practices.