Abstract
Purpose: Evidence has shown that engaging, immersive learning experiences that promote the understanding of another person are most effective at improving empathy in nursing students (Bas-Sarmiento et al., 2020; Cho & Kim, 2024; Levett-Jones et al., 2019). There is a lack of evidence, though, related to the clinical significance of these learning experiences on patient perception of empathy. This study examined the effect of storytelling through an immersive virtual reality (IVR) intervention on nursing student engagement and patient-perceived empathy.
Methods: Guided by Transportation Theory (Green & Brock, 2000), a quasi-experimental comparison group, posttest design was used. Participants included 60 second-degree, pre-licensure nursing students enrolled in a gerontological nursing course. The intervention group participated in an IVR experience, which shared the story of an older adult, and the comparison group completed a case study which presented a written narrative depiction of the same story. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare means between the two groups on the variables of student engagement, as measured by the Transportation Scale, and patient perception of empathy, as measured by a Standardized Patient (SP) using the Consultation and Relational Empathy measure (Mercer et al., 2004). Spearman’s rank-order correlation was used to assess the relationship between student engagement and patient-perceived empathy.
Findings: The Mann-Whitney U showed that there were no differences between the case study group and the VR group on the dependent variables of student engagement and patient perceived empathy. Both groups showed moderate to high engagement and empathic behaviors. Correlational analysis showed a moderate and statistically significant, positive correlation between student engagement and patient-perceived empathy.
Implications: The observed findings suggest that both methods of storytelling, narrative case study and VR, were effective at engaging students and promoting empathic behaviors. VR did not prove to be a superior method. Findings also indicated that greater student engagement was associated with greater patient perception of empathy. This relationship highlights the importance of creating engaging educational interventions that promote patient stories and adds to the limited science that examines patient perspectives of nursing empathy.
Notes
References:
Barbot, B., & Kaufman, J. C. (2020). What makes immersive virtual reality the ultimate empathy machine? Discerning the underlying mechanisms of change. Computers in Human Behavior, 111, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106431
Cho, M.-K., & Kim, M.-Y. (2024). Effectiveness of simulation-based interventions on empathy enhancement among nursing students: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. BMC Nursing, 23(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01944-7
Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2000). The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 701-721. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.701
Levett-Jones, T., Cant, R., & Lapkin, S. (2019). A systematic review of the effectiveness of empathy education for undergraduate nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 75, 80-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2019.01.006
Mercer, S. W., Maxwell, M., Heaney, D., & Watt, G. C. M. (2004). The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure: Development and preliminary validation and reliability of an empathy-based consultation process measure. Family Practice, 21(6), 699-705. https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmh621
Sigma Membership
Nu Eta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quasi-Experimental Study, Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Teaching and Learning Strategies, Virtual Learning, Storytelling, Nursing Students
Recommended Citation
Quay, Catherine, "Effect of Storytelling on Nursing Student Engagement and Patient Perceived Empathy" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 149.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/149
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Effect of Storytelling on Nursing Student Engagement and Patient Perceived Empathy
Seattle, Washington, USA
Purpose: Evidence has shown that engaging, immersive learning experiences that promote the understanding of another person are most effective at improving empathy in nursing students (Bas-Sarmiento et al., 2020; Cho & Kim, 2024; Levett-Jones et al., 2019). There is a lack of evidence, though, related to the clinical significance of these learning experiences on patient perception of empathy. This study examined the effect of storytelling through an immersive virtual reality (IVR) intervention on nursing student engagement and patient-perceived empathy.
Methods: Guided by Transportation Theory (Green & Brock, 2000), a quasi-experimental comparison group, posttest design was used. Participants included 60 second-degree, pre-licensure nursing students enrolled in a gerontological nursing course. The intervention group participated in an IVR experience, which shared the story of an older adult, and the comparison group completed a case study which presented a written narrative depiction of the same story. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare means between the two groups on the variables of student engagement, as measured by the Transportation Scale, and patient perception of empathy, as measured by a Standardized Patient (SP) using the Consultation and Relational Empathy measure (Mercer et al., 2004). Spearman’s rank-order correlation was used to assess the relationship between student engagement and patient-perceived empathy.
Findings: The Mann-Whitney U showed that there were no differences between the case study group and the VR group on the dependent variables of student engagement and patient perceived empathy. Both groups showed moderate to high engagement and empathic behaviors. Correlational analysis showed a moderate and statistically significant, positive correlation between student engagement and patient-perceived empathy.
Implications: The observed findings suggest that both methods of storytelling, narrative case study and VR, were effective at engaging students and promoting empathic behaviors. VR did not prove to be a superior method. Findings also indicated that greater student engagement was associated with greater patient perception of empathy. This relationship highlights the importance of creating engaging educational interventions that promote patient stories and adds to the limited science that examines patient perspectives of nursing empathy.
Description
Nurse educators have an opportunity to examine patient perspectives on nursing student empathy. A quasi-experimental comparison group design was used to examine the effect of storytelling through an immersive virtual reality intervention on nursing student engagement and patient-perceived empathy. The observed findings suggest that both methods of storytelling were effective at engaging students and promoting empathic behaviors.