![]() The patient explains her concerns and indicates that she is worried she might not be able to find anything else to alleviate her nausea. To do so, you might lower your glasses or shift position to make direct eye contact with the patient and say softly, “You seem to be concerned,” then pause to allow the patient to elaborate. In a situation like this, you should try to ascertain what the grimace means. She might also be embarrassed to talk about her marijuana use in front of others, even confidentially with her physician. It could reflect anger because she thinks she's being judged about drug use, it could indicate worry if marijuana is the only thing that has alleviated her symptoms, or she could be confused if a previous physician told her marijuana use was unrelated to her vomiting. During her visit, you mention that she needs to stop using marijuana. The neck pain is affecting many aspects of your personal and professional life.” After the patient has finished speaking, you can summarize what she said by saying, “So to summarize, you didn't have any neck pain until the car accident, but it's been getting progressively worse ever since and it is having a major impact on your life.” Alternatively, you can invite her to share more in an open-ended way, such as “Can you tell me more about your neck pain?”Ī patient with cyclic vomiting syndrome comes to the clinic. An empathetic response would be to echo her words by saying, “I understand. Now I can't sleep, I can't do chores around the house, and my boss is really getting upset about all the days I've missed at work.” It may be tempting to jump in with additional questions, such as, “How would you rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10?” However, a response like this does not effectively show the patient that you are listening to what she is saying. During the interview, she says, “My neck was fine until the car accident, but it's been getting worse ever since. ![]() In return, physicians may have an improved sense of professional satisfaction and joy in work.Ī patient presents with persistent neck pain. Patients who feel understood are often more open and responsive to their physician's advice. Improved communication between patient and practitioner, which may decrease patient anxiety and improve the patient's and physician's abilities to cope in emotionally charged interactions Increased patient trust, which may increase the amount of information the patient discloses and improve adherence to treatment Quiz Ref ID Tangible and intangible benefits to listening with and demonstrating empathy include 3: 1 By connecting with empathy, you can help to alleviate fears and convey that you and your care team are listening to their concerns. Empathy is also described as the capacity to put one's self in another's shoes to feel what that person is going through and share their emotions the recognition and validation of a patient's fear, anxiety, pain, and worry and the ability to understand patients' feelings to facilitate more accurate diagnoses and more caring treatment. In this current era of COVID-19 with unprecedented levels of uncertainty and anxiety, it is even more crucial that clinicians employ empathetic listening to understand and allay patients' fears and concerns.Įmpathetic listening is a simple yet powerful approachĮmpathy begins with “engaged curiosity about another's particular emotional perspective.” 3 Empathetic listening builds on the concept of being attentive to better understand another person's experiences. ![]() ![]() The foundation of empathetic communication is based on accurately understanding the patient's feelings and effectively communicating that understanding back to the patient so the patient feels understood. It bridges the isolation of illness and helps to restore the sense of connectedness that patients need to feel whole. ![]() The feeling of being understood by another person is intrinsically therapeutic. In fact, 65% of patient satisfaction has been attributed to physician empathy. Expressing empathy is a key ingredient to enhancing the patient experience. ![]()
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