Empathy

What is empathy?

The ability to perceive and understand a person feelings. Imagine putting yourself in the place of another.

What is sympathy?

Acknowledges someone in distress, feeling compassion or pity for someone, and may offer comfort and support with words

What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?

Empathy is the act of trying to understand what someone feels and trying to take on their emotions. Empathy is feeling with someone, while sympathy is feeling for someone.

What are the three domains of empathy?

Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral

Give 9 characteristics of an empathic person

Listener, emotional, expressive, sensitive, self-aware, intuitive, confidential, and helpful

What are the two primary functions of empathy?

Establishes rapport (harmonious and trusting relationship) and improves communication

Why is empathy important?

It has problem-solving aspects, health outcomes improve, patient feels less alone, and prevents harmful behavior

Give three reasons for the decline of empathy

Social media, technological advances provide alternative forms of communication, and decreased face-to-face interactions

Give six barriers to empathy

Too much time/attention/focus needed to be empathetic

Fear of saying the wrong thing

Stereotype people

Depersonalization

Hesitant to take on too many feelings

Compassion fatigue

What is compassion fatigue?

When empathy stores feel depleted as a result of the impact of caring for others

Give some signs/symptoms of compassion fatigue

Insomnia, feeling unappreciated, and very focused on work

What are some responses that might be used instead of empathy?

Judging, advising, placating, generalizing, probing, and distracting

Judging

Judging or evaluating a patient's feelings, often labeling them as right or wrong, and suggesting how they should or shouldn't feel.

Advising

This can include offering recommendations or telling someone what to do which may lead patients to become dependent on others to solve their problems. Instead, pharmacists can guide patients in the right direction

Placating

Offering false reassurance that focuses on making the patient feel better rather than helping them process their emotions. Can lead to giving patients unrealistic hope for a positive outcome that may not happen.

Generalizing

Minimizing a patient's experience with generalized statements shifts the focus away from their concerns. This can prevent them from fully expressing their feelings making the patient feel unheard, unimportant, and undervalued

Probing

Pharmacists, accustomed to gathering information to solve problems, may assume that asking enough questions will lead to a solution. This can shift focus away from the patient's emotional needs.

Distracting

Changing the subject can make the patient feel unheard and unimportant, it shifts attention away from their emotions instead of addressing them.

What is the goal of empathy?

To understand and provide an empathetic response

What are the three types of listening?

Passive, active, and empathetic

Passive listening

Interested in listening but we assume we heard and understood correctly, but do not verify it.

Active listening

Interested in listening, restating/paraphrasing to understand the message, and reflecting for verification (distinguishing factor)

Empathetic listening

Seeking to understand a persons emotions while listening and verifying understanding

Compare and contrast empathetic and active listening

Both require giving your full attention to better understand but empathetic listening emphasizes understanding the other persons emotional experience

How does an empathetic listener create intimacy with the patient?

Listening, identifying feelings, and allowing speaker to find solutions

Empathetic listeners know how important it is for speakers to both _____ and _______ their own issues

own; solve

What are the two steps to empathetic listening?

Rephrasing the content and reflecting feelings

How should you go about reflecting feelings during empathetic listening?

State first how you perceive the speaker to feel which then allows the speaker to name their feelings

What acronym can you follow to develop an empathetic response?

The NURS steps

Explain the NURS acronym

Name the emotion

Understanding response

Respect the patient

Support the patient

Name the emotion

Listen and perceive using active listening and focusing on body language. Listen for the person's intensity and category of feelings

Understanding Response

Rephrase content, convey your understanding, be genuine and open, and use nonverbal responses to help

Respect the Patient

Treat them like a real person, avoid judgement, help them trust you, and remember that they are vulnerable

Support the Patient

Accept the patients feelings and do not agree or disagree. Don't pass judgement, simply be there for them