Importance Of Empathy In Nursing

Looking back on my childhood, I noticed a pattern in the careers I was interested in. At one point, I wanted to be a dentist, a veterinarian, then a forensic investigator and even a medical doctor. It was not until I worked for a year in the ER as a PCA after I graduated from my undergraduate studies that I knew for certain that nursing is where my passion lies. My father’s passing when I was sixteen years old from a heart attack was the motivating factor to go into a profession that is dedicated to the service of others. I was a hospice volunteer for four years during my undergraduate years and thoroughly enjoyed giving support and comfort to patients who were passing and their families. I then became a PCA because I wanted to gain valuable

Often in this profession, we become desensitized. We are told to put our emotions aside after each patient and to focus at the task at hand. I believe it is important for nurses not lose their empathy and the reason why they went into nursing first place, because they whole-heartedly enjoy caring for others. My father’s passing has taught me that a death is a death no matter how many deaths that I witness. I now understand how family members feel when they lose a loved one and how it can drastically impact their lives. I have also learned the significant impact nurses make in helping families deal with their loss and to assist them in the grieving process in a healthy manner by providing patient-centered

I remember entering the emergency department and immediately heard the ambulance dispatchers call to report that they were on their way with a male patient who was in serious condition. When he came in, I was one of PCA performing CPR and assisting the code response team in any way that I could. The background story of this patient was that he and his son were riding a motorcycle headed to a country concert at Gillette Stadium when they were hit head-on by an SUV. The father was in worse condition, so he was sent to the closest ER which was the hospital I work at and his son was in better condition, so he went to the closest children’s hospital in the area. We did what we could for the father, but he unfortunately didn’t make it after hours of resuscitation procedures. When the 35-year-old father was pronounced dead, it really hit home for me because my own father was only 37-years-old when he passed. I knew how painful it would be for his family to lose him tragically at such a young age and to also to have his son injured at the same