Essay Sample on Role of Empathy in Nursing

Introduction

Despite extensive knowledge in health matters, nurses sometimes fail to deliver the best services to patients. The failure is attributed to their inability to offer services in a manner consistent with the expectation of patients. The result of such failure is poor health outcomes from the patient.

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Personal, Biopsychosocial, and Family Area of Concern

Given the nature of the injury, it will affect my life in different ways. Firstly, I will have to forgo school throughout the rehabilitation period which will affect my academic performance. Secondly, the injury may have a permanent impact on free mobility if the surgery fails. The injury will also increase overdependence on my loved ones. They will have to forgo their activities to attend to my needs.

Aside from free movement, the injury will be accompanied by emotional trauma and outburst attributed to the state of denial. Failure to accept the condition will lead to episodes of anger and deep depression. The injury will also deny me the chance to interact with my school colleagues and teachers. Also, I will have to forgo engaging in some social activities such as playing soccer. Finally, the injury will come with an additional cost in terms of finances and time to my family. Family members will have to forgo their busy schedules to attend to my needs.

My Needs and Expectations of My Nurse

Since the surgery is subject to uncertainty, I expected encouragement from the nurse. Through positive reinforcement, I will develop the belief and energy to fight towards recovery. The nurse can show encouragement through positive words and a comforting hug. Secondly, the nurse should refrain from words amounting to pity as they will impact my hope of recovery from the surgery. Also, I need compassion from the nurse which can be exhibited by showing care and concern for my condition. On the other hand, the nurse expects me to have hope and confidence in her service delivery. I will exhibit confidence by sharing my feelings and heading to the nurse's advice.

Challenges Related to Value System: Patient and Nurse Perspective

Given the nature of incidents that nurses encounter in service delivery, showing empathy to all patients becomes a challenge. Some patients lack trust in nurses which makes them refrain from sharing their pressing matters. In some cases, the nurse has to attend to many patients due to the shortage of staff thus making it possible to show empathy to all. Also, some nurses prefer to keep the utmost professionalism while discharging their duties. They do avoid offering special attention to their patients.

Developing a Therapeutic Relationship

Both communication enhancers and blockers influence the ability of the nurse to show empathy. Blockers such as belittling feelings and failure to listen deprive the nurse of the chance to show empathy. Through such blockers, the nurse fails to understand the pain of the patient. However, enhancers such as acceptance and offering create room for empathy. Through the offering, the nurse avails herself to the patient at all times while in need. In the process, the nurse becomes close to the patient thus increasing the ability to identify with his pain. Therefore, to promote empathy, I will encourage patients to share their conditions through turn-taking during communication. Also, I will ensure to instill hope among patients by focusing on the positive outcome of the treatment.