Nursing Communications Chapter 8: Being Empathetic
Six Steps to Empathic Communication
1. Clear hidden/distracting agendas 2. Focus on the speaker 3. Attend to your clients' and colleagues' verbal and nonverbal messages 4. Reflect on the message - "Is what I hear, what the client is saying" 5. Convey an empathic response 6. Check to see if your empathic response was effective
Benefits of Empathy with Clients and Colleagues
Increases the feeling of being connected with another human Helps reduce negative feelings of loneliness and isolation --Empathy dissolves alienation --Positive feeling of belonging Provides comfort in times of challenging transitions Creates a human bond that adds to your clients' or colleagues' personal strength Contributes to feelings of increased self-esteem
What is Empathy?
Is educated compassion Shows kindness, caring, and a willingness to help others by putting yourself in someone's shoes and really showing them you care for more than just their suffering. A sense of separateness is still maintained. Understanding someone's situation from their perspective and possibly sharing their emotions. Empathy is the act of communicating to our fellow human beings that we understand something about their world (Riley, 2017). Shared moment of meaning or common meaning is involved. Communicated understanding Recognize other persons humanity and personhood regardless of the illness, circumstance, or stigma
Empathy vs. Sympathy
It is educated because it goes beyond sympathy and compassion- (active desire to alleviate suffering of any person or thing). Empathy differs from sympathy in it's emotional meaning. ---Sympathy can lead to pity! Sympathy does not involve a shared perspective/shared emotions. E.g. you can sympathize with a lady bug but you cannot empathize with them. Be Respectful, Warm, Genuine and take off your shoes
Nonverbal Aspects of Empathy
Must be accompanied by warmth and genuineness Reflects caring and congruency
Steps in Breaking Bad News
Plan what is to be said ahead of time and organize your thoughts Establish rapport Control the environment as much as possible Find out what the client and family already know Find out how much given individuals want to know ---Don't make assumptions about this Use language the client and family will understand --Be sensitive and respectful of cultural issues Respond to the reactions of the client and family using an empathic approach When appropriate, explain the treatment plan and prognosis, and summarize
Three Overlapping Stages
Self Transposition - Walking in the client's shoes Crossing over - going from thinking to feeling and "I" "Thou" Getting ourselves back - standing side by side with the client with heartfelt understanding about the shared experience/meaning
Getting Ourselves Back
Standing side by side with the other in heartfelt understanding about the experience just shared
Preverbal Aspects of Empathy
Understand what the clients' feeling within the specific situation Nurses uses clinical judgement Empathy is conveyed through verbal connection with the client for the purpose of being helpful
Verbal Aspects of Empathy
Verbal reflection that is accurate and honest Two qualities of verbal empathy necessary to be effective --Accuracy --Specificity
Crossing Over
an emotional shift from thinking to feeling a deepening of our understanding and an awareness of the client's experience (I-Thou, shared moment of meaning)
Self Transposition
occurs when we listen carefully seek to put ourselves in clients shoes
Active Listening
provides speakers with the knowledge that we know how they are feeling- and understand why Passive: does not include an actual articulation of other's feelings, lacks conviction and reassurance of active listening, attending nonverbally to our clients or colleagues w/ eye contact head nodding
Unconditional Acceptance
unconditional acceptance of the individual in need of help judgments and evaluations are never offered (nonjudgmental reception) feelings of relief and freedom we can relax, no longer fear
