Nurse, empathy, and patient satisfaction

Nursing is both an art and a science. Empathy has been described as the 'art of nursing' (Carper, 1978). The science of nursing is evident in modern health care settings. A balance of the art and science of nursing should be encouraged. Empathy is the ability to put oneself in another's place and appreciate an experience from the other's point of view. Clinical empathy is acting upon this gained insight to plan and provide patient care. While nurses agree that empathy is important to nursing, to date, researchers have not studied the relationship between nurse empathy and patient satisfaction using qualitative methods. A case study approach was utilized to allow various methods of data collection and analysis. The study site was a magnet hospital using primary nursing since 1975. A purposive, nurse manager-nominated population of 17 primary nurses, and 12 nurse-nominated patients was obtained. Twelve nurse-patient pairs, and 12 key leaders were included in the study. Data collected included 41 interview transcripts from nurses, patients, and key nursing/hospital leaders. Nurses completed the Myself-toward-Other component of the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory (BLRI) and the LaMonica Empathy Profile. Patients completed the Other-toward-Self component of the BLRI and a Patient Satisfaction Index. Both groups completed demographic questionnaires. Artifactual information was also subjected to content analysis. Content analysis of interview transcripts and artifactual information was ongoing during data collection and analysis. Findings indicated that nurse empathy positively influences patient satisfaction with care. Nurses and patients agreed the relationship that developed between the nurse and patient was very important. Nurses expressed a love of nursing and a joy in helping others. Nurses believed their empathic approach to patient care accounted for their satisfaction with nursing. Patients identified the most important nursing actions as 'being there,' and 'taking time to sit down and listen.' Nurses identified an ability to establish and maintain appropriate levels of involvement in nurse-patient relationships as important for effective nursing care. Implications for nursing administration, education, and practice are to foster empathic awareness in nurses and facilitate appropriate relationship development between nurses and patients.