title: Validation of an empathy scale in pharmacy and nursing students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To validate an empathy scale to measure empathy in pharmacy and nursing students.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 15-item instrument comprised of the cognitive and affective empathy domains, was created. Each item was rated using a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Concurrent validity was demonstrated with the Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Health Professional Students (JSE-HPS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reliability analysis of data from 216 students (pharmacy, N=158; nursing, N=58) showed that scores on the empathy scale were positively associated with JSE-HPS scores (p<0.001). Factor analysis confirmed that 14 of the 15 items were significantly associated with their respective domain, but the overall instrument had limited goodness of fit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of this study demonstrate the reliability and validity of a new scale for evaluating student empathy. Further testing of the scale at other universities is needed to establish validity.
authors.affiliation: Manchester University College of Pharmacy, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. mekiersma@manchester.edu
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Kiersma
authors.forename: Aleda M H
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Karen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Yehle
authors.forename: Kimberly S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Plake
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D003071:Cognition; D003479:Curriculum; D004506:Education, Nursing / Q000379:methods; D004512:Education, Pharmacy / Q000379:methods; D004645:Empathy; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D013339:Students, Pharmacy / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: empathy; nursing students; pharmacy students; psychometrics