Related Experiment Videos
Do nurses and other professional helpers normally display much empathy?
1Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Stirling, Highland Campus, Inverness, Scotland, UK. wjr2@stir.ac.uk
Journal of Advanced Nursing
|January 13, 2000
Summary
Registered nurses often struggle to show empathy, a crucial skill for effective client care. This lack of empathy in nursing can negatively impact patient outcomes and the quality of the helping relationship.
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Healthcare Communication
Background:
- Empathy is vital for therapeutic relationships in healthcare.
- Professional helpers, including nurses, often exhibit low levels of empathy.
- This deficit impacts the quality of care and client well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how registered nurses acquire and express empathy.
- To examine the prevalence and implications of low empathy in clinical nursing.
- To highlight the importance of empathy for effective patient care.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on empathy in helping professions.
- Analysis of observations regarding nurses' empathy towards clients.
- Consideration of the relevance of empathy in nursing practice.
Main Results:
- Historically, low empathy levels are reported across helping professions, including nursing.
- Recent studies corroborate these findings, indicating a persistent issue.
- Nurses, despite their role in fostering helping relationships, often demonstrate limited empathy.
Conclusions:
- A consistent pattern of low empathy exists among registered nurses.
- The lack of empathy in nursing has significant negative consequences for clients.
- Enhancing empathy skills in nurses is crucial for improving healthcare outcomes.
Keywords:
Professional Patient Relationship