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Medicine vocabulary · Patient Communication

Empathy

Meaning in medicine, with examples

/ˈempəθi/nounCommon term

In medicine, empathy means: The ability to understand how another person feels and to show them that you understand.

In Turkish: empati, duygudaşlık

How it is used

A key skill in consultations and OSCE mark schemes. Doctors show empathy with short statements such as 'That must have been very frightening' or 'I can see this is worrying you', and by pausing to listen. Sympathy, feeling sorry for someone, is not the same.

Example sentences

  1. She handled the difficult conversation with real empathy.

  2. Showing empathy doesn't mean agreeing with everything the patient says.

Common collocations

  • show empathy
  • express empathy
  • empathy statement
  • lack of empathy
  • bedside mannerThe way a doctor behaves and talks with patients, especially how kind, calm and reassuring they are.
  • break bad newsTo tell a patient or family difficult information, such as a serious diagnosis or a death, in a careful, honest and kind way.
  • open questionA question that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no and invites the patient to explain in their own words.
  • reassureTo say or do something that makes a worried patient or relative feel calmer and less afraid, usually by explaining that a problem is not serious.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Patient Communication

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.