Empathy and its role in nurse-patient interactions
Empathy seems to be a power to recognise what other person is feeling, to view the condition from their side, and to put oneself in patient’s stance (Cannity et al., 2021). This means puting oneself in the shoes of another individual and going with what they are going through. When dealing with a patient, the nurse must make every effort to engage them. To do so empathy is perhaps the most efficient way to do this. A nurse has to know how to interact with a patient utilising empathy. As a result, in nurse-patient interaction, comprehending empathy is crucial. To properly demonstrate empathy, the nurse requires utilising active listening attributes, supporting in judgement making as well as communicating with the individual in a kind along with respectful way. Empathy appears to have the purpose of providing consolation to a person so that the nurse-patient relationship may be developed (Plotkin & Shochet, 2018). Furthermore, empathic approach can help a nurse and a patient form a better therapeutic bond (Wu, 2021). Reflective writing is a technique for gaining insight from a real-life event. This will help you connect what you’ve learnt in theory with what you’ll have to do in practice. Based on a recording of a nurse-patient dialogue, this article emphasises on empathy during the nursing-patient interactions. Everything in the film, including names and situations, is made up to protect the privacy of the persons involved.
In all aspects of nursing, including prevention, care, recovery, teaching, or health education, nurse-patient communication is critical. The effectiveness of nurse-patient interaction has been identified as a key component in enhancing patient healthcare. In addition, efficient communication may promote patients’ autonomy and comfort while also protecting them from negative health implications including medication errors resulting from inadequate interaction(Babii et al., 2021). Emotional empathetic communication has been one of the approaches for efficient communication between the nurse and patient (Stavropoulou et al., 2020). Empathy is among the best skills nurses use to communicate with others and comprehend their emotions, ideas, and experiences(Stavropoulou et al., 2020).
Active listening is a crucial part of empathic communication. Active listening is the process of listen, understanding what verbal along with nonverbal indications are being given and after that providing feedback to show that the nurse is giving focus to the data being given. This type of communication indicates that the speakers, as well as the listener, are on the same mindset. Active listening requires empathy (Arnold & Boggs, 2019). The quantity of information which patients think comfortable sharing is determined by just how sympathetic as well as empathetic caregivers are during interactions (Babii et al., 2021). Fostering an environment involving empathy along with compassion for consumers is crucial, and this has been linked with improved health results. (Stevens et al., 2020). Active listening helps to better engage with the patient, leading to a positive outcome. The attempts undertaken to comprehend and be sympathetic towards individuals have a major effect on the interaction within the nurse and the patient, determining the type and quantity of knowledge supplied (Webb, 2019). Also, according to Sibiya (2018) use of active listening can help in providing a better empathic response to the patient.
The significance of empathic communication in improving patient healthcare
Recognizing and appreciating an user’s heritage, race, religion, sexual orientation, geographical diversity, as well as peer group might aid in treatment, from resolving religious ideas related to treatment to using prefered pronouns among transgender as well as gender diverse people. Nurses may give the most empathic and quality care through understanding a patient’s views, desires, and personality(Moudatsou et al., 2020). In many respects, the capacity to empathise across cultures is crucial. This is, first and foremost, a requirement and promise of effective intercultural dialogue. Empathy allows one to not only sense another’s sentiments, yet also to think on them and contrast them to their own.
Building cultural competency by comprehending about different patient, exposing oneself to other religious backgrounds, as well as cultivating contacts with individuals from diverse backgrounds is essential for culturally sensitive empathic communication. Nurses who are curious to learn more may help to facilitate communication and customise treatment according to patient’s needs. People from various ethnic origins communicate in a variety of ways, both verbally and physically (Ghadi et al., 2020). In some religion, welcomes are showed with a bow in steed of handshake. Extended eye contact may be thought bad in some religion; however, this is a signal of respect and integrity in others.
Supporting making proper decisions is another important part of empathic communication. The nurse must help the patient to make an effective decision. To do so it is important to provide the necessary information. An improved decision making can yield a good clinical outcome, also in such cases; the patient thinks that their concerns are being valued and their decision are being supported (Tobon, 2019). Hence, it can help to develop better therapeutic rapport. Moreover, decision making is related to patient satisfaction because it allows the patient to customise the care according to their desire. Nevertheless, the nurse needs to get consent from the patient before providing the care. Hence, it is important to support the decision of the patient to engage in effective communication.
Empathic communication can be done by engaging in an open-ended conversation. Open-ended conversation enables a nurse to gain information about the individual, which can assist to create a better comprehension of the patient’s situation. Such a technique can be used while communicating with a patient who has an ankle injury.
(4.20) Interviewer: I am able to understand your situation. If I were in your place, I will be also concerned.
(4.35) Interviewee: I am feeling so much pain in my ankle, that I cannot move my leg. I am very much concerned about my family.
(4.50) Interviewer: You don’t need to be worried about it. I am sure we will find some way to cope with this.
(4.55) Interviewee: I don’t know I am so worried. This pain is killing me.
(5.00) Interviewer: Don’t worry. We can give you some medication, which will help with the pain. Also, we can arrange some social service workers to help you with your daily activity.
Such example illustrates how a nurse is attempting to comprehend the client’s circumstances. This is an effective example of empathic communication where the nurse uses empathy to understand the patient’s feelings and support them (Shao et al., 2018).
Conclusion
The nurse-patient relationship is critical during talks. This assignment focus on the role of nurses in empathic communication. The identified main issue is that empathy helps nurses to have a trusting relationship with the people they serve. As a result, nurses could have a greater understanding of how people are doing and what they are experiencing, which makes communication easier. In empathic communication, a patient feels their concerns are acknowledged, hence, such an approach can help to improve the patient’s satisfaction, leading to a positive health outcome. It’s difficult to exaggerate how important it would be to be noticed throughout conversations. The growth of trust as well as the creation of a relationship amongst nurse and client is aided by settings wherein individuals may express freely without worry of being mocked. As a result, the advice would be to employ emotional as well as ethnically focused empathy interaction with a client as often as feasible throughout the talk. Honoring a person as well as appreciating their input would be among the other suggestions.
References
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Babaii, A., Mohammadi, E., &Sadooghiasl, A. (2021). The Meaning of the Empathetic Nurse-Patient Communication: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Patient Experience, 8, 23743735211056432. https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735211056432
Cannity, K. M., Banerjee, S. C., Hichenberg, S., Leon-Nastasi, A. D., Howell, F., Coyle, N., … & Parker, P. A. (2021). Acceptability and efficacy of a communication skills training for nursing students: Building empathy and discussing complex situations. Nurse Education in Practice, 50, 102928. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2020.102928
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Plotkin, J. B., & Shochet, R. (2018). Beyond words: What can help first-year medical students practice effective empathic communication?.Patient education and counselling, 101(11), 2005-2010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2018.07.013
Shao, Y. N., Sun, H. M., Huang, J. W., Li, M. L., Huang, R. R., & Li, N. (2018). Simulation-based empathy training improves the communication skills of neonatal nurses. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 22, 32-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2018.07.003
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