Empathy from the Nurses' Viewpoint in Teaching Hospitals of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Empathy is the ability to put one in the place of others and to better understand their feelings and experiences. According to researchers, there is a type of challenge in using this concept in nursing field. In most cases, the term empathy substitutes other concepts. Regarding this point, it seems quite necessary to research and discuss different dimensions of this concept in different studies. This study aimed to determine empathy regarding the nurses’ point of view. Methods: In this descriptive study sample size was selected according to study population or in the other hand all the nurses in 3 general hospital was selected because they are the most important teaching hospital in Tabriz. LEP (La Monica Empathy Profile) was used as empathy tool. Data were analyzed by SPSS Ver. 13.0. Results: In nonverbal behavior dimension, touching the patient was considered as the most effective methods. On the other hand, nurses could not always be able to control stress and they could not always being with patients to show their empathy. Many people believe that nurses showed very little feelings while raggedly the reflective enclosure and they occasionally had to change their schedules to talk to patients. Conclusion: In most cases the nurses support nonverbal behavior, such as reflective, close and touching encountering in establishing relationship with the patient. However, to improve this situation, planning for nurses to become familiar with the ways through which they can express their interest to show empathy would be effective

Keywords: Empathy, Nurses, Patients