Communicating empathy in the face of pain and suffering

Abstract

This chapter will enable you to: • define empathy as it plays out (and should play out) in clinical situations; • understand the potential impact of empathic communication on the direction and outcomes of a clinical encounter; • identify the actions of clinicians, patients and family members that can generate empathy; • consider actions that can undermine the accomplishment of empathy; • develop the ability to reflect on your own practice so as to effectively communicate empathy.11 page(s