Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

In treatment settings, where a wide range of personality and individual diversity is to be expected, psychological variables such as intelligence and empathy enhance nurses’ amenability and affect their moral sensitivity. The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between nurses’ personal intelligence and empathy, and their moral sensitivity. This was a descriptive-analytic and correlational study conducted on a statistical sample of 250 nurses working in West Azerbaijan during 2015 selected by Cochran formula and cluster sampling. Mayer’s Personal Intelligence Scale, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and Lutzen’s Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire were used for data collection. The data were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. A positive relationship was found between nurses' moral sensitivity and the empathy variable (r = 0.279, P = 0.002), the subscale “forming models” (r = 0.411, P = 0.001) and the subscale “guiding choices” (r = 0.544, P = 0.001) of personal intelligence. The results of multi-variable correlation coefficient using the input method indicated that empathy and the subscales of personal intelligence influence nurses' moral sensitivity ( 0.374).

Adherence to professional ethics is among the main responsibilities of nurses. Our findings showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between empathy and the subscales of personal intelligence in nurses and their moral sensitivity. It is therefore necessary to increase the latter by enhancing nurses’ personal intelligence and empathy through group training.