Empathy - the basis of a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship

Empatija se definira kao sposobnost prepoznavanja i razumijevanja tuđih emocija, odnosno kao sposobnost promatranja situacije iz tuđe perspektive. Sastoji se od dvije komponente, afektivne i kognitivne. Njezin razvoj počinje u ranom djetinjstvu i na njega utječu brojni faktori. Razvojem neuroznanosti, pronašla su se i još se uvijek istražuju brojna područja u mozgu koja se direktno ili indirektno povezuju s empatijom. Empatija je jedna od najvažnijih osobina medicinske sestre jer joj, između ostalog, omogućuje stvaranje odnosa povjerenja, lakše prikupljanje informacija od pacijenta te povećava kvalitetu i zadovoljstvo pacijenta sestrinskom skrbi. Osim toga, ključna je i u razvoju terapeutskog odnosa medicinska sestra-pacijent. Terapeutski odnos medicinska sestra-pacijent je odnos u kojem medicinska sestra ulaže sebe – svoje znanje, vještine komunikacije te osobine poput empatije kako bi kod pacijenta postigla željeni učinak. Taj se odnos smatra temeljnim u sestrinskoj skrbi i ostvaruje se kroz terapijsku komunikaciju. Karakterizira ga postojanje svrhe i cilja, a on značajno utječe na ishod skrbi. Prva je terapeutski odnos u sestrinstvu opisala Peplau u svojoj Teoriji interpersonalnih odnosa. Opisala ga je kroz četiri faze: fazu orijentacije, fazu identifikacije, radnu fazu i završnu fazu. Postoje preduvjeti koje medicinska sestra mora zadovoljiti da bi se terapeutski odnos mogao uspostaviti. S druge strane, postoje barijere poput stereotipa te prelaženja profesionalnih granica koje onemogućuju razvoj kvalitetnog i učinkovitog terapeutskog odnosa, stoga ih medicinska sestra mora biti svjesna. Upravo iz tog razloga, važno je da medicinska sestra bude samosvjesna odnosno svjesna svojih sposobnosti, sklonosti, prednosti i nedostataka. U Hrvatskoj se nedovoljno piše o terapeutskom odnosu medicinska sestra-pacijent stoga je upitno i njegovo sustavno provođenje. Potrebno je i u praksi i u edukaciji staviti veći naglasak na terapeutski odnos kako bi se on provodio sustavno, sa svim pacijentima.Empathy is defined as the ability of recognition and understanding of other people’s emotions, meaning the ability of evaluating a situation from other person’s perspective. It consists of two components: affective and cognitive. Its development starts in early childhood and is affected by numerous factors. With the development of neuroscience many areas of the brain have been discovered and are still being researched which are directly or indirectly connected with empathy. Empathy is one of the most important traits of a nurse because it enables formation of the mutual feeling of trust, easier gathering of information from a patient while it also increases the quality of nursing care and the patients’ outcomes. Additionally, it is crucial in the development of a therapeutic relationship between the nurse and the patient. Therapeutic nurse-patient relationship is such into which the nurse invests herself in – with her knowledge, communication skills and traits like empathy, in order to achieve the desired effect on the patient. That relationship is considered fundamental in nursing care and is achieved through therapeutic communication. It is characterised by the existence of purpose and the patient centered goal while also having a significant impact on the outcome of the process of professional care. The first to describe the therapeutic relationship in nursing was Peplau in her Theory of Interpersonal Relations. It is described through four stages: orientation, identification, exploitation and resolution. There are a few requirements that the nurse has to fulfil in order for the therapeutic relationship to be established. On the other side, there are barriers such as stereotypes and crossing of professional boundaries that prevent the development of quality and efficient therapeutic relationship, due to these possible negative consequences the nurse has to be aware of the boundaries set. For that very reason, it is important that the nurse is self-aware, meaning having conscious knowledge of her abilities, preferences, flaws and virtues. In Croatia, it is insufficiently written about the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship so its systematic implementation is being brought into question. It is also necessary, in theory and practice, to place greater emphasis on the therapeutic relationship so that it can be implemented systematically, regarding all patients