Empathy: the importance of recognizing two types. |
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Authors: | M R Alligood |
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Affiliation: | College of Nursing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996-4110. |
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Abstract: | 1. Empathy has been a consistent topic in nursing literature. Although authors attest to the importance of empathy for quality nursing care, an understanding of empathy and its role in the nurse-patient relationship remains elusive. 2. The study of empathy in nursing has been hampered by a lack of theoretical and methodological clarity, a factor that has contributed to the inexplicable findings in empathy studies. 3. The recognition of two distinct types--basic empathy, a human developmental trait, and trained empathy, a clinical skill state--is set forth as a possible solution to methodological problems. |
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