For example, a hospice nurse who experiences debilitating loss and grief at every death would be just as hampered in the performance of her duties as a hospice nurse who was unable to empathize with her patients and their families.

Likewise, it is important to realize that some of the technical aspects of nursing education may actually not encourage compassion in nurses. One of a nurse's critical skills is being able to evaluate the severity of a condition or of a patient's presenting symptoms. Therefore, a well-trained nurse might be very confident that a patient's symptoms do not indicate a serious problem, even if the patient is experiencing stress and fear. This may result in behavior towards the patient that the patient perceives as somehow being callous or lacking compassion. What this demonstrates is that empathy is impacted by education. Student values can change as the result of both formal...
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