Relation between the nurses? empathic tendency and burnout level

This study was held to determine the relation between the empathic tendency and burnout level of the nurses. 162 nurses from a state hospital were included.Data were collected with personal information form, Empathic tendency scale of Dökmen, Maslach burnout scale which was developed in 1981 and for Turkey reliability and validity was proved by Ergin (1992).Pearson correlation analysis was used for data analysis.Study showed that 3 most stressing factors for nurses are; work load, conflicts with patients' family, and with team members. Average point for empathy trend was 69.95 for nurses. Average subscale points for burnout were as follows; emotional exhaustion=17.21, depersonalisation=5.56, personal accomplishment=20.98. Results showed that empathic tendency has a negative correlation with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, and a positive correlation with personal accomplishmen level. As empathic tendency increases, depersonalisation and emotinal exhaustion level decrease and personal accomplishment increases.As a result, in-servive training is necessary for empathy and empathic approach of the nurses and for the nurses with heavy work and working in busy wards, work load must be decreased.Key Words: Burnout, Empathic Tendency, Nursing