Toward a holistic conceptualization of empathy for nursing practice.
This article proposes a new holistic conceptualization of empathy for nursing practice that allows different aspects of the literature to be understood. This study is based on the data of a doctoral study exploring the nature of empathy on an oncology ward. The findings revealed that empathy is not a single phenomenon. Four different forms of empathy were identified, namely, empathy as an incident, empathy as a way of knowing, empathy as a process, and empathy as a way of being. These different forms of empathy can be understood in terms of a continuum of empathy development and suggest a new way of conceptualizing empathy that can be depicted diagrammatically.
Wiseman
Theresa
T
Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kings College London, London, UK. theresa.wiseman@kcl.ac.uk
D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D003210:Concept Formation; D004645:Empathy; D018939:Holistic Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D006113:United Kingdom