ERIC Number: ED229824
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1983-Apr
Pages: 25
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Interpersonal Empathy: A Training Program for Health Care Professionals.
Schwartz, Sandra R.; And Others
A study was designed to develop an empathy training program for health professionals that would (1) improve selected predictive, behavioral, and achieved empathetic communication skills for a sample group of registered nurses; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the training program in attaining its stated goals; and (3) develop a program that could be utilized by the hospital for further in-house education. The program was designed with an eight-hour format, divided into two four-hour sessions, each including lecture, discussion, and group activities. Theoretical background material was included in order to make the participants aware of the impact of empathy on health care and on the quality of the nurse/patient relationship. Lecture and discussion focused on the unique aspects of the hospital environment and its effect on the patient as manifested in good and bad patient behaviors. The discussion of empathy as a therapeutic tool focused on the communication skills related to the predictive, behavioral, and achieved phases on a multistage approach. An evaluation of the program was based on participants' response to two scales: the Allied Health Professional Empathy Discrimination Index, and a forced choice instrument. Results supported the following program outcomes: an increased awareness among program participants of the importance of empathy in health care, increased knowledge of the empathy process, and increased empathic behavioral skills. (HOD)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A