93231 Empathy and Compassion for Nursing Practice
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksRequisite(s): (93223 Nursing Care of the Older Person OR 92460 Nursing Care of the Older Person) AND (93227 Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing OR 92457 Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing) AND (93226 Indigenous Health and Well-Being OR 92456 Contemporary Indigenous Health and Wellbeing)) AND ( 92454 Medical Surgical Nursing OR (93200 Foundations of Nursing Practice 2A AND 93222 Clinical Practice 2A AND 93224 Foundations of Nursing Practice 2B AND 93225 Clinical Practice 2B)
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
Empathy is a required attribute for all healthcare professionals; it is fundamental to therapeutic communication and integral to safe and effective nursing care. In this subject, students build on the empathy skills and understandings developed throughout their previous BN studies. This subject incorporates immersive and experiential learning approaches informed by health care consumers’ lived experiences of diverse health issues and health care. Students develop the advanced therapeutic communication skills needed for empathic and compassionate nursing practice and have opportunities via live simulation to therapeutically engage with consumers who are experts by lived experiences.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| A. | Discuss the role of empathy in leadership. (RN Standards for Practice 2.7, 2.8) |
|---|---|
| B. | Demonstrate an understanding of the meaning, attributes and application of empathy in nursing. (RN Standards for Practice 2.8, 4.1) |
| C. | Demonstrate advanced therapeutic communication skills using a strengths-based approach. (RN Standards for Practice 2.1, 3.2, 3.5, 3.7) |
| D. | Identify and articulate the link between empathy and person centred care. (RN Standards for Practice 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 2.3) |
| E. | Practice empathic reflection skills. (RN Standards for Practice 2.3, 6.1) |
| F. | Demonstrate an understanding of the significance of the lived and learnt experiences of consumers to inform care. (RN Standards for Practice 1.1, 1.7, 2.4, 2.5, 4.3) |
| G. | Identify the need for self-compassion in nursing and its relationship to resilience. (RN Standards for Practice 3.1, 3.3, 3.6) |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the following graduate attributes:
- The ability to plan and provide care that is respectful of each individuals’ needs, values and life experiences (1.0)
- Demonstrates an ability to provide holistic and compassionate care that takes into account people's lived experience, views and feelings. (1.1)
- Works in partnership with patients including them in decisions related to their care. (1.2)
- The embodiment of a professional disposition committed to ethical, equitable and legal nursing practice (2.0)
- Demonstrates leadership and the moral courage needed to improve patient outcomes, staff well-being and organisational cultures. (2.3)
- The ability to communicate and collaborate safely, compassionately and respectfully. (3.0)
- Works in partnership with healthcare providers and other stakeholders toward common goals that prioritise patients' values, needs and preferences. (3.3)
- Critically reflects on and learns from previous experiences to improve future practice. (6.3)
Teaching and learning strategies
In this subject, you will participate in a range of teaching and learning strategies.
Lectures and online learning materials
This subject benefits from both the real time delivery of content and access to online resources including podcasts, videos and learning modules. Students are provided with the resources to complete approximately 60-90 minutes of preparatory work to enable engagement during face-to-face tutorials. Online lectures will enable students to quickly clarify complex descriptions and terminology, and engage with nursing leaders who are experts in their field.
Tutorials
Students will be supported and guided by a tutor and also work in pairs and groups to unpack the tutorial content using patient stories and clinical scenarios. In class content is structured to contribute to the required assessment tasks.
Students will be provided feedback from their tutor and peers with the opportunity to collaborate and develop interpersonal, communication and reflective skills.
Content (topics)
- The meaning, attributes and application of empathy in nursing
- Empathy and person-centred care
- Expertise - lived and learnt experiences
- Developing collaborative, therapeutic nurse–consumer relationships
- Advanced therapeutic communication skills - strengths-based approaches, therapeutic optimism, empathic responding
- Compassionate kindness
- Empathic leadership
- Self-compassion
- Empathic reflection
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Empathy Continuum Reflection
| Intent: | Students will participate in a self-evaluation of their abilities and attributes as identified on the “Empathy Continuum”. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): B and E This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 1.0 and 2.0 |
| Type: | Reflection |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 20% |
| Length: | 500 words |
Assessment task 2: Digital Story
| Intent: | Students will create a digital story that explores the lived experience of someone with a specific health condition and within a particular demographic. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): B, C, D, E and F This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 1.1, 1.2, 3.0, 3.3 and 6.3 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Group, group assessed |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | 3-4 minutes |
Assessment task 3: Empathy Continuum and Co-design Critique
| Intent: | Students will be provided with resources to understand their own empathetic abilities and attributes through the use of a framework which will be provided combined with reflection. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): A, B, D, E and G This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 2.0, 2.3, 3.0, 3.3 and 6.3 |
| Type: | Essay |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 50% |
| Length: | 1500 words |
Other resources
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Improve your academic and English language skills
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HELPS (Higher Education Language & Presentation Support)
HELPS provides assistance with English language proficiency and academic language. Students who need to develop their written and/or spoken English should make use of the free services offered by HELPS, including academic language workshops, vacation intensive courses, drop-in consultations, individual appointments and Conversations@UTS (www.ssu.uts.edu.au/helps). HELPS staff are also available for drop-in consultations at the UTS Library. Phone (02) 9514 9733.
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