The relationship between compassion competence, caring behaviours, and professional commitment among nursing students: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

compassion plays a crucial role in providing high-quality healthcare. In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on compassion and compassion competence within the nursing and healthcare professions. Training and developing compassion competence in nursing students is an essential aspect of the educational process to ensure these skills are effectively applied in clinical interactions. This study aims to assess the level of compassion competence among nursing students and explore its relationship with caring behaviours and professional commitment.

METHODOLOGY

This cross-sectional study was conducted on nursing students at Tabriz Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery from Sep to Dec 2023. A total of 200 nursing students were selected by random sampling method using Random Number Generator software. Data were collected by Compassion Competence Scale, Caring behaviours Scale, and Professional Commitment Scale. Data analysis was done by SPSS ver. 26 software.

FINDINGS

The results indicated that the mean total score of compassion competence was 4.02 ± 0.50 out of 5. The higher mean score (4.16 ± 0.63) belonged to the sensitivity domain and the lower score (3.84 ± 0.66) belonged to the insight domain. Furthermore, the mean score for caring behaviours was 121.03 ± 14.88 from a maximum possible score of 144, and the average score for professional commitment was 71.12 ± 13.13 out of 104. The results showed a significant positive relationship between students' compassion competence and caring behaviours (r = 0.70, p < 0.001), compassion competence and professional commitment (r = 0.41, p < 0.001) and between caring behaviours and professional commitment (r = 0.48, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight the essential role of developing compassion within nursing education. By strengthening students' compassion skills, educational institutions can enhance patient care quality and promote professional commitment among future nurses. Employing compassion focused strategies to nurture this competence in nursing students will result in a more empathetic and committed nursing workforce, benefiting both healthcare providers and patients.