The Effect of the Reflective Practices

NCT07103538 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: FErgezen
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 77
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of reflective practices on nursing students' empathy and compassion levels. Hypothesis H1-1: Reflective practices affect nursing students' empathy level. H1-2: Reflective practices affect nursing students' compassion level.

Conditions

Empathy; Compassion; Nursing Student

Keywords

empathy; compassion; reflective practices

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Empathy

  The Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Nursing Students was designed to measure empathy levels in nursing students. The Turkish adaptation consists of 18 items across the same three sub-dimensions. The scale is based on a 7-point Likert-type format (1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly agree), yielding a total score ranging from 18 to 126. Higher total scores reflect greater levels of empathy.

  Data were collected at two different time points: At recruitment (T0) and in the 14th week (T1)

• Compassion

  The Compassion Scale comprises 24 items and six subscales: kindness, indifference, common humanity, separation, mindfulness, and disengagement. The subscales of indifference, disengagement, and separation are reverse-scored prior to calculating the overall compassion score. Total scores range from 24 to 120, with higher scores indicating higher levels of compassion.

  Data were collected at two different time points: At recruitment (T0) and in the 14th week (T1)

Study Arms (2)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention was implemented as part of a nursing course consisting of 4 hours of theoretical instruction, 4 hours of laboratory practice, and 8 hours of clinical practice. For 14 weeks, reflective practice was integrated into both the laboratory and clinical components. In the laboratory sessions, clinical scenarios were developed based on five common topics (e.g., infection control, vital signs) that students are likely to encounter during clinical practice. Students performed these scenarios by taking on different roles. Following each role-play, structured reflection sessions were conducted with the students. In the clinical setting, the final hour of each practice day was allocated for reflection. After completing an online reflection form, students had the opportunity to engage in group discussions if they wished to reflect further.

Behavioral: Reflective practices

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Students followed the same laboratory and clinical curriculum but did not participate in any structured reflective practices. They received standard instruction in psychomotor skills and routine clinical procedures without the inclusion of role-play, scenario-based learning, or debriefing sessions.

Interventions

Reflective practices BEHAVIORAL

The intervention was implemented as part of a nursing course consisting of 4 hours of theoretical instruction, 4 hours of laboratory practice, and 8 hours of clinical practice. For 14 weeks, reflective practice was integrated into both the laboratory and clinical components. In the laboratory sessions, clinical scenarios were developed based on five common topics (e.g., infection control, vital signs) that students are likely to encounter during clinical practice. Students performed these scenarios by taking on different roles. Following each role-play, structured reflection sessions were conducted with the students. In the clinical setting, the final hour of each practice day was allocated for reflection. After completing an online reflection form, students had the opportunity to engage in group discussions if they wished to reflect further.

Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Voluntary participation in the study
• Enrollment in the "Fundamentals of Nursing-II" course
• Taking the course for the first time
• Not having previously received training in reflective practice
• Being registered in Class B

You may not qualify if:

• Refusal to participate in the study at any stage of the study process
• Failure to fully complete the data collection forms

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Akdeniz University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Akdeniz University

Antalya, Antalya, 07070, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

Related Publications (6)

• Durkin M, Gurbutt R, Carson J. Effectiveness of an online short compassion strengths course on nursing students compassion: A mixed methods non-randomised pilot study. Nurse Educ Today. 2022 Apr;111:105315. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105315. Epub 2022 Feb 26.

  PMID: 35290862 BACKGROUND

• Dreifuerst KT. Using debriefing for meaningful learning to foster development of clinical reasoning in simulation. J Nurs Educ. 2012 Jun;51(6):326-33. doi: 10.3928/01484834-20120409-02. Epub 2012 Apr 9.

  PMID: 22495923 BACKGROUND

• Contreras JA, Edwards-Maddox S, Hall A, Lee MA. Effects of Reflective Practice on Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Stress, Anxiety and Competency: An Integrative Review. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs. 2020 Jun;17(3):239-245. doi: 10.1111/wvn.12438. Epub 2020 Apr 24.

  PMID: 32329238 BACKGROUND

• Coleman D, Willis DS. Reflective writing: the student nurse's perspective on reflective writing and poetry writing. Nurse Educ Today. 2015 Jul;35(7):906-11. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2015.02.018. Epub 2015 Mar 14.

  PMID: 25802097 BACKGROUND

• Arman M. Empathy, sympathy, and altruism-An evident triad based on compassion. A theoretical model for caring. Scand J Caring Sci. 2023 Sep;37(3):862-871. doi: 10.1111/scs.13163. Epub 2023 Mar 21.

  PMID: 36942653 BACKGROUND

• Adamson E, Dewar B. Compassionate Care: Student nurses' learning through reflection and the use of story. Nurse Educ Pract. 2015 May;15(3):155-61. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2014.08.002. Epub 2014 Sep 19.

  PMID: 25754833 BACKGROUND

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Masking Details: The statistician was masked in the study
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 29, 2025
• First Posted: August 5, 2025
• Study Start: February 19, 2024
• Primary Completion: February 19, 2024
• Study Completion: June 3, 2024
• Last Updated: August 14, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share

Locations

TU (1)