Objective. To determine if resilience can predict empathy. Specifically, explain what would be the effect of the resilience dimensions on the dimensions of empathy in the nursing students examined in this study. Methods. Cross-sectional study with the participation of 340 nursing students from a private university in Colombia. Jefferson’s Empathy Scale (student version) and the Resilience-Trait Scale were used. The complete psychometry of the Empathy and Resilience scales was carried out, followed by the application of Structural Equations. Results. Ecological Resilience predicts negatively the dimensions of “Compassionate Care” (ß = -0.11) and “Walking in the patient’s shoes” (ß = -0.19); the Engineering Resilience predicts positively the dimension “Walking in the patient’s shoes” (ß = 0.08). Conclusion. Overall, resilience predicts empathy, thereby, introducing empathetic training of nursing students in the population studied must also include training in resilience.
