The Effect of Empathy Training on Employee Motivation, Moral Sensitivity and Alexithymia in Nurses

Empathy is a combination of emotional and cognitive care which has the most positive effect on health outcomes and consistency in patients. This study aims to investigate the effect of empathy training on employee motivation, moral sensitivity and alexithymia in the nurses working at Bahonar hospital, Kerman.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 80 nurses working at Shahid Bahonar Hospital, Kerman in 2020, who were selected through census method. They were then divided into the two groups of intervention and control. The empathy training program was held through eight 90- minute sessions for the intervention group, focusing on four-factor psychotherapy, developed by Vaziri & et al (2011). The control group received no training. Data collection was done using 3 tools, including Employee Motivation Survey, the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire (MSQ) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS). The data was then analyzed with SPSS 23.

Ethical Considerations: 

In order to organize this research, while observing the authenticity of the texts, honesty and fidelity have been observed.

The results showed that empathy training has impacts on employee motivation, moral sensitivity and alexithymia (P<0.001) in the nurses working at Shahid Bahonar Hospital, Kerman.

The obtained results showed that empathy training has impacts on employee motivation, moral sensitivity and alexithymia in nurses; therefore, it can be used to empower nurses.