The intervention was implemented as part of a nursing course consisting of 4 hours of theoretical instruction, 4 hours of laboratory practice, and 8 hours of clinical practice. For 14 weeks, reflective practice was integrated into both the laboratory and clinical components. In the laboratory sessions, clinical scenarios were developed based on five common topics (e.g., infection control, vital signs) that students are likely to encounter during clinical practice. Students performed these scenarios by taking on different roles. Following each role-play, structured reflection sessions were conducted with the students. In the clinical setting, the final hour of each practice day was allocated for reflection. After completing an online reflection form, students had the opportunity to engage in group discussions if they wished to reflect further.

Students followed the same laboratory and clinical curriculum but did not participate in any structured reflective practices. They received standard instruction in psychomotor skills and routine clinical procedures without the inclusion of role-play, scenario-based learning, or debriefing sessions.

The intervention was implemented as part of a nursing course consisting of 4 hours of theoretical instruction, 4 hours of laboratory practice, and 8 hours of clinical practice. For 14 weeks, reflective practice was integrated into both the laboratory and clinical components. In the laboratory sessions, clinical scenarios were developed based on five common topics (e.g., infection control, vital signs) that students are likely to encounter during clinical practice. Students performed these scenarios by taking on different roles. Following each role-play, structured reflection sessions were conducted with the students. In the clinical setting, the final hour of each practice day was allocated for reflection. After completing an online reflection form, students had the opportunity to engage in group discussions if they wished to reflect further.

The Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Nursing Students was designed to measure empathy levels in nursing students. The Turkish adaptation consists of 18 items across the same three sub-dimensions. The scale is based on a 7-point Likert-type format (1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly agree), yielding a total score ranging from 18 to 126. Higher total scores reflect greater levels of empathy.

The Compassion Scale comprises 24 items and six subscales: kindness, indifference, common humanity, separation, mindfulness, and disengagement. The subscales of indifference, disengagement, and separation are reverse-scored prior to calculating the overall compassion score. Total scores range from 24 to 120, with higher scores indicating higher levels of compassion.