title: A perspective on cultivating clinical empathy.
abstract: This paper discusses the role of empathy in clinical practice. An empathetic provider fulfills the patient's basic need to be understood and is vital to the establishment of a healthy provider-patient relationship. The commentary introduces the concept of clinical empathy, reviews pertinent literature on the topic, and focuses on effective communication as a means of expressing empathy in a clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Grace Cottage Hospital, Townshend, VT 05353, USA. mdavis@gracecottage.org
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Davis