YouTube storytelling videos to enhance empathy in nursing students in a geriatric course: A quasi-experimental study

• Digital storytelling is penetrative for deep learning and emotional connection. • YouTube viewing and discussion fosters critical thinking and empathy in students. • Assessing on levels of empathy permits nursing educators to predict and prepare students for empathy training. You Tubes have been widely used for clinical skills education but quantitative research on YouTube for empathy learning was limited. The quasi-experimental study aims to explore nursing students’ accessibility and perception of using YouTube as a learning tool for storytelling and evaluate its effect on empathy learning among nursing students. Convenience samples were from a tertiary institution involving 93 nursing students enrolled in the YouTube group in the first semester of year 4 study. Another 94 nursing students in the second semester were treated as a control group without YouTube. The Chinese version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy – Health Professions Students (C-JSE-HPS) was applied to assess the empathy levels of both groups of students before and after the study period. A postintervention survey on students’ perception of YouTube as an online and experiential learning tool was administered to the YouTube group. The study results have shown that YouTube storytelling videos can increase student engagement and facilitate deep learning on empathy. NCT04441853 (Retrospectively registered June 24, 2020).