Case Study: Applying Empathic Communication in Healthcare Setting

This case study examines the importance of empathic communication in a nursing context, specifically in the case of Vikki. The assignment highlights the concept of empathic communication, which involves understanding a person's thoughts, attitudes, values, and emotions. It explores the empathy gap, a cognitive bias that can hinder effective communication due to individual differences in mental states. The solution emphasizes the need for nurses to employ empathic communication strategies, including verbal and nonverbal techniques, to bridge the empathy gap and effectively handle patient cases. Key strategies include active listening, positive gestures, maintaining eye contact, and reflecting on the patient's words. The assignment stresses the development of these skills to foster strong patient relationships and improve healthcare outcomes. The case study references several research papers supporting these communication techniques and their impact on the patient-nurse relationship.

Running Head: Communication 1
Communication for Empathic Understanding Intent
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

Running Head: Communication 2
Communication for Empathic Understanding Intent
When someone listens to another person with his thoughts, attitude, values and emotions
to understand the things and communication what he/she actually wanted to say is known as
empathic communication (Barton, 2018). Empathic communication is actually entering in
another person’s life what he/she is feeling and thinking about something. It helped a person to
avoid misjudging and making wrong assumptions about the other person. As the Individual
differences occur between the two persons that make the different mental state and this different
mental state makes the different decisions on the same thing (Jeong, 2017).
On the other hand, this different mental state makes empathic communication difficult
that creates an empathy gap between the people. The empathy gap is actually a cognitive bias.
The examples of the empathic gap are, it is difficult for a person to perceive or imagine
threatened when he/she is actually in a calm situation (Giménez-Espert, & Prado-Gascó, 2017).
While handling the case of Vikki, nurses should choose empathic communication. While
empathic communication, nurses should felt the feelings and thinking about how Mark
threatened the Vikki. When the nurses are able to listen to her effectively, then they are able to
manage the empathy gap between herself and Vikki. Although it is difficult to maintain the other
person’s mental state, it is important for the nurses to control the empathy gap while they are
talking with the patient. When the nurses are able to maintain empathetic communication with
empathy gape, then it is easier to handle a case with effective communication.
There are many empathic communication strategies that helped the nurses to
communicate effectively with the patients. Verbal and nonverbal communication are involved in
empathetic communication (Terezam, Reis-Queiroz, & Komura Hoga, 2017).
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Running Head: Communication 3
1. Empathetic communication enhanced when a person clearly involved with the other
person’s communication by giving them a response that you are not judging, evaluating
and criticizing them (Navarro-Abal, Lopez-Lopez, & Climent-Rodriguez, 2018).
2. By expressing the positive gestures towards the communicating person also help to
create empathetic communication (Foster et al., 2015).
3. Maintaining eye contact and encourage the other person to speak openly to enhance
empathetic communication (Jeong, 2017).
4. Reflecting back the words that a person speaking developed a better understanding
between two person’s communications (Foster et al., 2015).
5. Listening skills enhance empathetic communication. When a person responses to
another person with a fully understandable and constructive way, then it develops a
strong relationship that creates empathetic communication (Choi, Song, & Oh, 2015).
6. While communication, self-disclosure also help to enhance the empathetic
communication skill if you think it is important. But one thing will be in view that the
focus of communication will not be focused on yourself (Barton, 2018).
These are all strategies that professional nurses should develop to create better and empathetic
communication with their clients so that they can minimize the empathy gape between them.

Running Head: Communication 4
References
Barton, A.J. (2018). Leadership and Communication Competencies in Nursing: What Are We
Missing? J Nurs Educ. 57(5):259-60. doi: 10.3928/01484834-20180420-01.
Choi, Y., Song, E., Oh, E. (2015). Effects of teaching communication skills using a video clip on
a smart phone on communication competence and emotional intelligence in nursing students.
Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 29(2):90-5. doi:10.1016/j. apnu.2014.11.003
Foster, K., McCloughen, A., Delgado, C., Kefalas, C., Harkness, E. (2015). Emotional
intelligence education in pre-registration nursing programmes: An integrative review. Nurse
Educ Today. 35(3):510–7. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2014.11.009
Giménez-Espert, M.C., Prado-Gascó, V.J. (2017). Emotional intelligence in nurses: The Trait
Meta-Mood Scale. Acta Paul Enferm. 30(2): 204-9. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.1590/1982-
0194201700031
Jeong, S.J. (2017). Empathy Ability, Communication Ability, and Nursing Performance of
Registered Nurses and Nursing Assistants in Long-term Care Hospitals. J Korean Acad Nurs
Adm. 23(3):249-58. doi:10.11111/ jkana.2017.23.3.249
Navarro-Abal, Y., Lopez-Lopez, J.M., Climent-Rodriguez, J.A. (2018). Engagement, resilience
and empathy in nursing assistants. Enferm Clin. 28(2):103–10. doi: 10.1016/j.enfcli.2017.08.009

Running Head: Communication 5
Terezam, R., Reis-Queiroz, J., Komura Hoga, L.A. (2017). The importance of empathy in health
and nursing care. Rev Bras Enferm. 70(3):669-70. doi. 10.1590/0034-7167-2016-0032