Inculcating Compassion and Emotional Intelligence in Nursing Students: Building a Foundation for Empathetic Care

Abstract

Objective: To examine the impact of a comprehensive educational program on emotional intelligence and compassion among nursing students at The University of Lahore.

Study Design: A quasi-experimental study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the at Lahore School of Nursing, The University of Lahore, Pakistan from 20th March 2025 to 31st December 2025.

Methods: The study was a quasi-experimental study was conducted among 108 nursing students chosen using a universal sampling methodology. The participants were split into experimental (n=54) and control (n=54) groups. The experimental arm was given a structured learning intervention that included 60 minute sessions twice per week
which included lectures, role plays, videos and scenario based learning on emotional intelligence and compassion, whilst the control group was not provided with anything. The Emotional Intelligence Evaluation Scale and the Compassion Scale were used to evaluate outcomes and the pre and post intervention scores were compared between the groups.

Results: There was a statistically significant change in emotional intelligence (p=0.007) and compassion (p=0.015). The experimental group had better scores in post-intervention EI (3.43±0.61) than the control group (3.06±0.64). Likewise, the scores in compassion were greatest in the experimental group (4.02±1.13) than in the control (3.05±0.62) and pre-intervention (3.33±0.53).

Conclusion: The educational intervention was structured and found to be highly effective at enhancing emotional intelligence and compassion amongst nursing students, as well as at promoting crucial competencies to provide empathetic and patient-centered care to patients.