The correlation between the clinical competency and empathy of nurses: Case study, Intensive Care Units of the educational hospitals of Kerman Medical Sciences University, Iran

Background and Purpose: Special nursing is considered an expertise in nursing profession and requires a special competency. Empathy is complementary to the skills and knowledge needed to effectively treat a patient. Clinical competency and empathy are followed by effective health cares. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between clinical competency and empathy of nurses employed in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Methodology: This descriptive, correlational study was carried out on 231 nurses employed in the ICUs of the educational hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences that were selected through a census. The data collection tools included an intensive care nursing competency scale and a nursing empathy assessment questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 20 software and the independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient and regression. Results: The study results indicated that the mean score of nurses' clinical competency was 574.08 +- 86.51, and the mean score of empathy was 150.12 +- 17.04. The highest level of clinical competency belonged to the field of knowledge, and the lowest level belonged to the field of skill. The highest level of empathy was related to the behavioral area, and lowest level was related to the emotional area. There was a correlation between the two variables of clinical competency and empathy and all of their areas (the overall correlation coefficient r = 0.7 and P < 0.001). Conclusion: Given the relationship between clinical competency and empathy, it can be concluded that a higher clinical competency in nurses makes them more likely to establish an empathetic relationship with patients. According to the findings of this research, nursing managers and nursing education planners can provide appropriate conditions to enhance the clinical competency of nurses and improve their chance of establishing empathetic relations.