Abstract

Background
Empathy is the ability to grasp the frame of reference of another. It is the goal of the caring listener (Kirk,2007). As such empathy is a key feature of nursing practice involving self awareness (Eckroth- Bucher, 2010) and the use of emotion in representational thinking (Scott, 2000).
Aims
This paper presents the findings of an enquiry into the dynamics of empathy as part of nursing ontology. The study aims to improve understanding of how empathy is developed and used in practice.
Method
Thirty- four nurses across community, public health, paediatrics, mental health and acute adult surgery talked exhaustively about their experiences with empathy in the context of their relationships with patients and families. A phenomenological approach was used. The data was collected in a London teaching hospital trust and in three community NHS trusts in the East Midlands of England between November 2011 and August 2012. The interviews were audio- taped and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were analysed using Grounded Theory Method.
Results
Empathy was experienced as a libidinal entity dependent on a number of allied skills: listening and echoing, knowing another’s circumstances, imagining and representing the imagined perception within the self. Empathy was viewed as a precision tool for person centred care and with two distinct levels: phenomena related empathy and biographical related empathy. The case sensitive use of nurses’ life experience also enabled empathy. Person centred care and empowerment were inhibited where empathy could not be achieved.
Discussion
The findings inform on the place of empathy in the hierarchy of embodied nursing skills most notably in relation to compassion.
Conclusion
Insight into the dynamics of empathy provides a basis for the construction of teaching tools and learning objects for skill development in nursing practice.