December 2019 Communication Tip
Responding to Emotions: NURSE
Happy December (already!)
You all should have received your November Starcard Report, so here is your monthly Communication Tip from me.
Many of us feel uncomfortable with patient emotion (and consequently sometimes don’t make much room for it).
But allowing patients to express their hopes and worries is at the core of effective communication around serious illness.
So, this month’s tip includes a bunch of options for responding to patient emotion.
The NURSE acronym below comes from Vital Talk. You can get it as an app for your smartphone.
NURSE statements for articulating empathy
|
Example |
Notes |
|
|
Naming |
“It sounds like you are frustrated” |
In general, turn down the intensity a notch when you name the emotion |
|
Understanding |
“This helps me understand what you are thinking” |
Think of this as another kind of acknowledgment but stop short of suggesting you understand everything (you don’t) |
|
Respecting |
“I can see you have really been trying to follow our instructions” |
Remember that praise also fits in here eg “I think you have done a great job with this” |
|
Supporting |
“I will do my best to make sure you have what you need” |
Making this kind of commitment is a powerful statement |
|
Exploring |
“Could you say more about what you mean when you say that…” |
Asking a focused question prevents this from seeming too obvious |
Give one or more of these responses a try over the next month and let me know how it goes.
Just naming emotion is often all you need to do to change the tenor of an encounter.
Best
mike