Empathetic Nursing Care Report: Understanding Patient Perspectives

This report delves into the concept of empathetic nursing care, emphasizing the importance of understanding patient perspectives and the application of the theory of mind. It begins with an introduction to abstract concepts and their role in developing empathy, referencing the traditional view of knowledge acquisition. The report explores various definitions and methods of achieving empathy, including understanding others' internal states, mimicking neural representations, and sharing emotions. It then presents a case study of an 80-year-old woman, the person of focus (POF), highlighting her gambling addiction and the challenges it presents. The report discusses the 'theory of mind' and its application in understanding the POF's behavior and mental states, including desires, beliefs, and pretenses. It also examines the influence of different self-systems of cognition on empathetic understanding. The conclusion stresses the importance of addressing conscious and unconscious biases, challenging stereotypes, and promoting inclusivity within healthcare organizations to improve processes and policies. References to relevant literature are included to support the arguments presented. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted nature of empathy and its critical role in providing effective and compassionate nursing care.

Running head: EMPATHETIC NURSING CARE
Empathetic Nursing Care
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Introduction
Possessing concepts that are as abstract as this, requires possession of abstract
knowledge as well. This is based upon the traditional idea that developing a concept is just a
resultant of gaining knowledge (Lockwood 2016, pp.255-266). The concept of theory of
mind is based on knowledge packets which are known as “common sense theories”. Another
model uses the theory that describes abstract concepts are dependent on cognitive
mechanisms but not on perception. This theory is widely acknowledged as the “theory of
mind mechanism”.
Perceived empathy gaps and intention
The term “empathy” is used to describe an array of phenomena, which although are
related to each other, cannot be categorized under a single component (Melloni, Lopez &
Ibanez 2014, pp.407-425). Empathy can be defined and achieved through various ways, such
as follows:
 In order to ascertain the internal state of mind of other people, one must go through all
their thoughts and feelings. This is known as empathy.
 Mimicking other person’s neural representations or their motor activities can lead to
empathy. Matching neural response or motor mimicry are considered to the unified
source of empathetic feelings.
 Being able to feel the same emotions the other person is feeling is another definition
of empathy used by the philosophers, neuroscientists and psychologists. Often it is
stated that the empathizer needs only to express similar not necessarily the same
emotions as the person of focus.

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 Imagining how another person is feeling or what they are thinking based on what they
say or do and on the basis of the expert’s own knowledge can be termed as empathy.
This entails one’s own sensitivity to the affected person more than their knowledge
about the feelings and thoughts of other people.
Description of the person of focus (POF)
The person of focus (POF) is an 80 years old woman who is originally from Thailand.
She had lost her husband a few years back and has no children. Currently, she is not working
anywhere and her income comes from the Australian Department of Human Services’ master
program Centrelink that delivers the social security payments and services to the citizens. The
lady is partially blind and cannot see things properly. Although she has a severe issue of
being a gambling addict.
The hallmark sign of a gambling addict is that they always feel like they cannot stop,
they must keep playing, no matter what. They start to feel anxious when they think about
quitting. Although gambling cannot be treated with medication the resulting anxiety and
depression can be attenuated with anti-depressants and other medications (Reed 2014, pp.7-
24).
Theory of Mind and immersion activity
“Theory of mind” as a term was first used by David Premack, the renowned US
psychologist. Human beings attribute to a vast array of mental conditions which includes
purpose, ambitions, expectations, eagerness, desires, hopes and beliefs. The term theory of
mind is now a days used by psychologists to describe people’s capability to assign their state
of mind to others and to interpret, describe and assume the patient’s behavioral attitude
(Chapman 2015). The proposed theory of mind describes human being’s capability of

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possessing beliefs about mental states. The states of mind that are most commonly found
among human population are desires, beliefs and pretence. Desire identifies a person’s goals
and aims in life. Belief denotes the thoughts about the world a person develops with time.
Lastly, pretence describes the act everyone takes on since everything a person does is not
always intended by them (de Villiers & de Villiers 2014, pp.313-328).
When any cognitive activity has implications on the self, their outcomes depend on
the type of the system of self. There are specifically three divergent self-systems of cognition.
First, the ones with inter-dependent selves are thought in order for being more mindful and
considerate to other people rather than the ones who are considered as independent selves.
Secondly, the unit of representation among the interdependent selves includes a quite
particular social context that embeds both the self and the other (Butterfill & Apperly 2013,
pp.606-637). This entails that knowledge of the person must be contextual and specific and
not at all vague or abstract. Third, considering the social aspects along with the people’s
reactions helps to shape the basic non-social cognitive activities including categorizing and
counter-factual thinking.
Conclusion
The leaders of organizations who promote cultural congruency must be aware of the
conscious and unconscious bias. The information that promote stereotype must be
challenged. The perception of the status quo must continue to be changed. It is a prerequisite
to ensure that inclusivity is always being included in order to improve the processes and
policies. The leaders must always continue the discourse of diversity and inclusivity in their
organizations.

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References
Butterfill, S.A. & Apperly, I.A., 2013. ‘How to construct a minimal theory of mind’. Mind &
Language, vol. 28, no. 5, pp.606-637.
Chapman, J., 2015. ‘Emotionally durable design: objects, experiences and empathy’.
Routledge.
de Villiers, J.G. & de Villiers, P.A., 2014. ‘The role of language in theory of mind
development’. Topics in Language Disorders, vol. 34, no. 4, pp.313-328.
Lockwood, P.L., 2016. ‘The anatomy of empathy: Vicarious experience and disorders of
social cognition’. Behavioural brain research, vol. 311, pp.255-266.
Melloni, M., Lopez, V. & Ibanez, A., 2014. ‘Empathy and contextual social
cognition’. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, vol. 14, no. 1, pp.407-425.
Reed, G., 2014. ‘The antithetical meaning of the term “empathy” in psychoanalytic
discourse’. Empathy, vol. 1, pp.7-24.