Nursing is as much about human connection as it is about clinical skill. But can we teach students how to be empathetic, or is that something you either have or don’t? Is empathy the “art of nursing,” or is it a skill that can be practiced?

These questions take us to part four of this series on ways of thinking in nursing education. So far, we have covered three types of thinking valuable for every nurse, no matter their workplace or the future of healthcare:

Week 1 - Independent Thinking​

Week 2 - Creative Thinking​

Week 3 - Problem-Solving Thinking​

And the final type left to review is EMPATHETIC THINKING.

Empathetic thinking is the ability to seek out and work to understand others’ viewpoints, feelings, and experiences. In Tanner’s clinical judgment model, I believe it is a noticing skill, and we can help students practice this type of assessment just as we teach them to listen to lung sounds. A successful nurse in this era, and one who avoids burnout, must be proficient at empathetic thinking.

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The key is to notice emotions, avoid judging, and respond with compassion to patients, coworkers, families, and yourself. This way of thinking includes:

👀 taking another person’s perspective, even when it feels unfamiliar

🚫 staying out of judgment, listening without rushing to critique

💬 recognizing and naming emotion, both in others and in ourselves

💜 showing compassion in struggle, offering support instead of criticism

Unlike sympathy, which involves feeling pity or sorrow for someone’s situation and can lead to emotional overwhelm, empathy focuses on understanding and sharing another’s feelings and experiences without becoming emotionally overwhelmed.

Here is one active learning tool to help develop this type of thinking:

One Small Detail Post-Conference

This activity best fits clinical post-conferences. For theory or online classes, see the article links below.

1. Ask students to find the detail. In pre-conference, ask students to uncover one non-clinical detail they learn about a patient during the day (e.g., favorite hobby, family tradition, personal worry). Create a blank space for them to write it on their clinical worksheet or nurse brain organizer.
2. Encourage reflection. In post conference, invite them to write two lines reflecting on why this personal detail matters to the patient’s care experience.
3. Hold space for group discussion. Afterward, have students share with the group and together think about how that detail could affect the nurse-patient relationship. This helps students move beyond just collecting information and start building real clinical insight.

For more ideas on practicing empathetic thinking, check out these articles:

​Creating an Empathy Map​

​Using a Patient Blog as an Active Learning Tool​

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Encouraging Empathetic Thinkers

Empathetic thinking develops through practice, reflection, and compassion. Simple activities that focus on perspective and emotion help future nurses develop the emotional and human skills they need to complement their technical skills and make a meaningful difference.

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