Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Published on: January 7, 2020
Communication skills training enhances nurses' ability to respond with empathy to parents' emotions in a neonatal
Kristina Bry1,2, Maija Bry3, Elisabet Hentz2
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Aim:
We quantitatively analysed the effect of a course in communication on the content of nurse-parent encounters and the ability of nurses to respond to the empathic needs of parents in a level III neonatal intensive care unit.
Methods:
We evaluated 36 and 45 nurse-parent encounters audio recorded before and after 13 neonatal nurses attended a communication course. The number of empathic opportunities, the nurses' responses to these and the ways they involved parents in their infants' care were studied.
Results:
Both before and after the course, the nurses talked more than the parents during the conversations. This nurse-centredness decreased after the course. The use of empathic or exploring responses to empathic opportunities increased from 19.9 ± 9.0% to 53.8 ± 8.9% (p = 0.027), whereas ignoring the feelings of the parents or giving inadequate advice decreased from 63.0 ± 10.0% to 27.5 ± 8.4% (p = 0.043) after the course. Use of statements expressing caring for the parents and encouragement for parents to participate in the care of their infant increased after the course (p = 0.0034 and p = 0.043, respectively). The nurses felt the course was very useful for their profession.
Conclusion:
A course in communication techniques improved nurses' ability to respond to parents' feelings with empathy.
Related Concept Videos
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Techniques of Therapeutic Communication II: Focusing, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
This therapeutic technique can also be used when a patient brings up pertinent information during a health-related conversation. The...
The Professional Nurse
Communication skills: These are critical characteristics, especially speaking and listening.
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Levels of Communication I: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Small Group
We can participate in these relationships through verbal, nonverbal, and mediated communication. We engage in verbal communication when we use words during our interaction to convey specific meanings. On the other hand, nonverbal communication refers to various factors that can impact how we understand each other—for example, facial expressions.
We interact with others using mediated technologies like the...
Therapeutic Communication
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...

