The Importance of Empathy and Rapport

In today’s busy healthcare environments, the lack of time allocated for nursing care is a common barrier to establishing empathy and rapport.

Even the most passionate advocates for patient-centered care admit that empathy and rapport take time.  Nurses may lack the time to be present with patients, which impedes authentic listening and rapport-building.  However, time is far from the only barrier to establishing empathy and rapport.

“Nurses don’t have time to sit with patients or listen anymore. How can I build rapport when we are always overworked?”

In this course, we will explore common environmental and professional barriers to establishing and maintaining a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship.  We will also review communication strategies to enhance empathy and rapport in busy practice settings.

Before we begin, let’s briefly explore the importance of empathy and rapport for effective and safe nursing practice.