A Qualitative Study on the Empathy Formation Process of Nursing Students Participating in Small Group Discussion Classes

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the process of forming empathy shown in the experiences of participating in small group discussion classes of nursing students, who are the main caring subjects in a multicultural society. To this end, the researcher participated as a teaching assistant in the ‘Multicultural Society and Humanities of Coexistence’ class, which is a required liberal arts course in the nursing department of I University. The research participants were five students who voluntarily expressed their intention to participate after the class. The transcripts of the interviews, each class reflection journal, and midterm and final exams were collected as data. Data analysis analyzed the collected data inductively and analyzed it from the viewpoint of the empathy formation process. As a result of the study, responses such as ‘recognizing differences and experiencing conflict’, ‘discussion became smoother through mutual respect’, ‘my perspective changed through various perspectives’, and ‘practice for coexistence’ were signified by themes. These results suggest that the value of empathy is extended to multicultural acceptance through the process of forming empathy through small group discussion classes, contributing to the practice of coexistence.