This study aimed to investigate the mediating effect of compassion competence on the relationship between caring behaviors and the quality of nursing services. Participants included nurses working in South Korean hospitals. Data collected from 1 November to 31 December 2020 were analyzed using a t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson's correlation coefficients, and hierarchical multiple regression. We found that caring behavior had a positive correlation with the quality of nursing services and compassion competence. Moreover, there was a positive correlation between the quality of nursing services and compassion competence. Compassion competence had a significant mediating effect on the relationship between caring behaviors and quality of nursing services. This suggests that nurses' caring behaviors can enable high-quality nursing services influenced by compassion. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of nursing services, repeated and continuous implementation of training programs including education that can improve compassion competence is necessary.
Keywords: caring behavior; empathy; nurses; nursing services; service quality.