Empathetic behaviors by nurses have been shown to improve both patient satisfaction and health outcomes. However, there has been a documented decline in empathy levels among the undergraduate population, including nursing students. For these reasons nurse educators have sought ways to foster and improve empathy development in nursing students. Furthermore, even though there has been a steady increase in online education and teaching strategies, there has been little evidence in the literature to support the effectiveness of online modules to teach non-technical skills such as empathy. This quasi-experimental study used a pretest/posttest design to evaluate the effectiveness of an e-simulation intervention using an expert patient with diabetes in fostering empathy in prelicensure nursing students. Batson's Eight Components of Empathy, Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory, and Jeffries Simulation Theory provided a theoretical foundation for the study. Demographic data related to gender, race, age, work experience in healthcare, and closeness to a person with diabetes did not show any statistically significant influence on empathy development. However, there was a documented increase in levels of empathy as measured by the Comprehensive State Empathy Scale after the teaching intervention. The paired t-test reported a significant difference between the pretest total (M = 103.7; SD = 17.98) and posttest scores (M = 110.1; SD = 21.11) t(67) = 3.23, p = 0.001, with a small to medium effect size (d = 0.39 95% CI [2.46-10.44]). The core findings of this research contribute to the scholarship of nursing education and theory-based teaching interventions by validating a successful teaching strategy for enhancing empathy. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]