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Coaching Nurses to Care: Empathetic Communication in Challenging Situations

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Abstract

Empathy, an essential component of a caring patient/nurse relationship, is critical to quality care delivery. Empathetic communication is especially important in very difficult emotionally intense environments where there is severe illness and/or life-threatening situations (e.g., intensive care, emergency room). Studies have shown nurses in emotionally intense environments rarely respond with empathy because these busy, intense environments make empathetic communication challenging. Further, many nurses lack empathy training making it more challenging to respond using empathy. Research indicates nurses seek empathy training to communicate more effectively with patients/parents/family. Such training has the potential to improve quality care delivery, patient safety, and decrease burnout. This chapter will cover the types of training used to teach empathy, their outcomes, and scenario examples.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Jean Hannan, Mark Fonseca & Elizabeth Azutillo

  2. Miami Dade College Benjamin Leon School of Nursing, Miami, FL, USA

    Edgar Garcia Lara

  3. Jackson Health System, Miami, FL, USA

    Mercedes Braithwaite & Faith Irving

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  1. Jean Hannan
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  2. Mark Fonseca
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  4. Mercedes Braithwaite
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  6. Elizabeth Azutillo
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Correspondence to Jean Hannan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Adriana E. Foster

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York, NY, USA

    Zimri S. Yaseen

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Hannan, J., Fonseca, M., Lara, E.G., Braithwaite, M., Irving, F., Azutillo, E. (2019). Coaching Nurses to Care: Empathetic Communication in Challenging Situations. In: Foster, A.E., Yaseen, Z.S. (eds) Teaching Empathy in Healthcare. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29876-0_12

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