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Phad 390: The Role Of Empathy In Healthcare Professionals

Satisfactory Essays

Kelsey Raymer
September 10, 2015
Phad 390
Empathy Essay

Empathy Essay

Empathy should play an active role in the daily lives of everyone, but in particular in the day-to-day lives of a healthcare professional. Healthcare professionals have the unique and challenging job of counseling patients in times of need, whether that is in the setting of a newly diagnosed disease or in the death of a family member. This unique challenge requires all healthcare professionals to be skilled at using empathy in the appropriate circumstances.

While in most circumstances, empathy is a crucial tool in understanding the patient and their problems, there is also a distinct line drawn between the appropriate amount of empathy and going overboard. Healthcare professionals should be aware that while empathy is an important factor of their jobs, it is just as important to not become emotionally involved in patients’ lives. A careful balancing act is needed in order to sustain the appropriate level of empathy without letting the emotional rollercoasters of patient lives interfere with the work and personal life of the healthcare professional.

Healthcare professionals who should learn to exhibit empathy range from doctors and nurses to therapists and pharmacists. While it has been established that a …show more content…

Some of the lacks in empathy are influenced by barriers, which help hinder a perfect score on the CARE scale. Non-physical barriers such as the rate of prescriptions being filled and the influx of needy patients, take the pharmacist’s time and attention away from patients who possibly need medication counseling. Physical barriers such as the height of the counter and the distance between the pharmacist and the patient also influence a patient’s perception of the empathy being portrayed. In the average pharmacy all of these factors come into play, resulting in the possibility of lower CARE

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