A nurse is spending time with a patient, who has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. The patient states that he or she is frightened about the diagnosis and feels overwhelmed
The nurse responds, "It sounds to me like you are feeling very scared right now." Which communication technique did the nurse use? a. Sympathy
b. Empathy
c. Focusing
d. Self-disclosure
B
Empathy is the ability to understand and accept another person's perspective. Although no one can ever totally know another's experiences, a nurse can try to understand what the person is ex-periencing. Focusing directs conversation to a specific topic or issue when a discussion becomes unclear. Self-disclosures are personal statements intentionally revealed to the other person. Sympathy is the concern, sorrow, or pity that you feel for a patient when you personally identify with his or her needs. Unlike empathy, which tries to understand a patient's experience, sympa-thy takes a subjective look at the patient's world ("Oh, I know just what you mean. I hate feeling that way.").
You might also like to view...
Which finding is abnormal in an aging patient and should be reported to the physician? (Select all that apply.)
a. Altered sleep patterns b. Depression c. Forgetfulness d. Decreased postural stability e. Decreased problem-solving ability f. Fine motor tremors of the hands
Mrs. Silver is currently taking Lasix, 40 mg bid; digoxin, 125 mg qd; and Inderal, 20 mg qd. Which of the following laboratory values would be of concern to you?
a. Digoxin level 1.0 ng/mL b. Potassium level 2.5 mEq/L c. Potassium level 4.0 mEq/L d. Sodium level 140 mEq/L
The nurse is caring for a client who is diagnosed with an estrogen-sensitive tumor and has undergone a mastectomy. When instructing the client on potential medications, which medication(s) are stressed?
A) Tamoxifen (Nolvadex) and aromatase inhibitors (Femara) B) Paclitaxel (Taxol) and doxorubicin (Adriamycin) C) Mifepristone (RU486) D) Testolactone (Teslac)
A newly employed nurse is working with an experienced registered nurse. During the shift, the experienced nurse routinely accesses a tablet computer. What advice should the experienced RN offer the newly licensed nurse about this technology?
1. "Be careful that you don't pay more attention to the computer than you do to the patient." 2. "If you send a copy of your patient's order sheet and lab results to the tablet, it can save you time during the day." 3. "I'll show you where there are some stress-relieving games you can access from this tablet." 4. "These tablets are such time-savers. I'll show you a few shortcuts to help you get started."