Empathy in paramedic practice: an overview

Abstract

Background Although inconsistently defined, empathy is generally considered to be the understanding of another person's reactions, thoughts, feelings and problems and being able to relay this sense of understanding back to the individual. Empathy in healthcare is associated with improved communication, reduced stress, lower complication rates and improved clinical outcomes. Low empathy is associated with decreased patient satisfaction, and provider burnout. Aim The aim of this article is to provide an overview of empathy in paramedic practice, and to outline several potential solutions to improve empathy levels among paramedics and paramedic students. Methods We conducted unstructured, non-systematic searches of the literature in order to inform an overview of the literature. An overview is a summary of the literature that attempts to survey the literature and describe its characteristics. We thematically structured the results of these searches under the following headings: empathy in paramedic practice, empathy and burnout, and strategies to improve empathy levels. Discussion The literature demonstrates that paramedic students have lower empathy scores towards substance users and mental health emergencies, and this may affect future practice as a paramedic. The burden of emotional work in paramedic practice and coping strategies that paramedics develop may also be contributory factors in this lower empathy. There appears to be a relationship between empathy and burnout, with most studies suggesting an inverse relationship. Empathy is an interpersonal skill that can be learned and improved upon through methods such as reflection and simulation. Conclusion Empathy in paramedic practice is complex, and understudied. Although some evidence exists to suggest that paramedic students have variable empathy levels towards certain patients, and that these empathy scores can decline over time, there is a distinct lack of research into empathy in practicing paramedics, and this requires further attention. In particular, its relationship to patient care, paramedic burnout, and wellbeing require investigation. Several strategies to teach empathy exist and these can be considered by educators.

Empathy in Japanese paramedicine students: A cross‐sectional study

“…Although empathy in healthcare has been subject to considerable exploration through studies in medicine, nursing, and other allied health areas, much less research has occurred within the paramedic profession. Also, existing paramedic research has been undertaken on student cohorts, rather than professional paramedics (Kus, Henderson, & Batt, 2019). This lack of examination of empathy in qualified paramedics is noteworthy, as paramedic clinical work regularly involves relatively short periods of interaction with patients who are often stressed or clinically unwell.…”

“…This lack of examination of empathy in qualified paramedics is noteworthy, as paramedic clinical work regularly involves relatively short periods of interaction with patients who are often stressed or clinically unwell. Empathy is a necessary trait to possess in these circumstances to quickly enable the establishment of an effective clinical relationship between the paramedic and patient (Kus et al, 2019).…”

Emotionen im Rettungsdienst

“…Affektive Empathie, d. h. Mitgefühl und Unbehagen im Angesicht menschlichen Leids [22], ist unerlässlich für soziale Anteilnahme. Empathie kann in medizinischen Professionen dazu beitragen, die Kommunikation mit Patienten zu verbessern, erlebte Sinnhaftigkeit der Arbeit zu steigern und Burn-out vorzubeugen [18,28]. Empathie ist jedoch ein zweischneidiges Schwert, denn sie kann auch die Vulnerabilität des Personals steigern.…”

“…Mitgefühl (vier Items, α = 0,75; "Mich berühren Dinge sehr, auch wenn ich sie nur beobachte") und Unbehagen (vier Items, α = 0,81; "Ich fühle mich hilflos, wenn ich inmitten einer sehr emotionsgeladenen Situation bin") als Komponenten von Empathie wurden mit dem Saarbrücker Persönlichkeitsfragebogen erfasst [22]. Der habituelle Einsatz von Neubewertung (sechs Items, α = 0,80; "Wenn ich mehr positive Gefühle empfinden möchte, versuche ich, über die Situation anders zu denken") und Unterdrückung (vier Items, α = 0,78; "Ich behalte meine Gefühle für mich") zur Emotionsregulation wurde mit dem Emotion Regulation Questionnaire [3,18].…”

Determinants of medical students' empathy during clinical rotation

“…Empathy is a complex concept and often described as to feel what others are felt, to imagine oneself in others' position, understanding others' thought, as a basis to response others suffering [1]. Empathy is also defined as multidimensional concept that covers cognitive, emotion, morale, and attitude dimension [2], [3]. Therefore, defining empathy means meeting one and/or more of these four dimensions.…”