“Let Me See If I Have This Right …”: Words That Help Build Empathy

Relationship-centered Care. A Constructive Reframing

“…Relationship-centered care therefore challenges the notion of detached concern, in which stepping back to maintain affective neutrality breaks the bond that holds people together. Rather than remaining detached or neutral, clinicians ought to be encouraged to empathize with patients, because empathy has the potential to help patients experience and express their emotions, 12,13 to help the clinician understand and serve the patient's needs, 14 and to improve patients' experience of care. 15,16 Affect and emotion have been understudied in the medical encounter; however, studies outside of medicine suggest that improved understanding and use of emotion by physicians could enhance medical care processes and outcomes.…”

“…Even a particular doctor and patient who work together over a significant period of time (or through changing circumstances) are likely to need to adjust to the ways in which they come together and work over time. For example, in RCC, a particular physician behavior, like self-disclosure 20,21 or empathy, 12,15 is not viewed as ''good'' or ''bad''-rather it is evaluated to the extent that it emerges from and contributes to the relationship between the patient and clinician.…”

An Overview of Empathy

“…Traditionally, patients with CES who have surgery within 24 hours of initial symptoms are believed to have clinically significantly better neurologic recovery. 7 However, some studies 1,7,21 found no statistically significant improvement in outcome between patients surgically treated within 24 hours compared with those surgically treated within 24 to 48 hours. Other studies 9,11 suggest that surgery performed on an expedient rather than emergent basis did not compromise neurologic recovery.…”

“…Statements that facilitate empathy have been categorized as queries, clarifications, and responses. 21 Examples of each are as follows: "Sounds like you are …" "I imagine that must be …" "I can understand that must make you feel …" Ideally, after perceiving the clinician's statement of empathy, the patient expresses agreement or confirmation ("You got it, Doc!" or "Yeah, that's exactly how I feel").…”

Spirituality and Ubuntu as the foundation for building African institutions, organizations and leaders

“…One of the human qualities that can enable an individual to see and practice interconnectedness is empathy. Several experts have developed techniques for developing empathy (Atkins 2014;Ciarrochi and Mayer 2007;Coulehan et al 2001;Glomb et al 2011;Goleman 2006;Mazutis and Slawinski 2008). Indeed, Pavlovich and Krahnke (2014, 1) see "empathy as the capacity to experience and relate to the thoughts, emotions, and experience of others and involves a heightened awareness of others".…”