Empathic Care Culture in Intensive Care Unit Nurses: A Focused Ethnographic Study

Abstract

Empathy is one of the important components in the patient–nurse relationship. The aim of the study was to explain the culture of empathic care in intensive care unit (ICU) nurses. The present focused ethnographic study was conducted in the cardiac surgery ICU in Tehran. Three methods of observation, interview, and review of existing documents were used to collect data. From data analysis, three cultural models, “Predominance of task-based care over emotion-based care,” “Empathy and lack of empathy, two ends of the spectrum of the nurse–patient relationship,” and “Empathy, an interactive and reciprocal process,” were extracted. The results showed that empathy creates a caring environment where nurses not only understand their patients but also relate to them, and both are affected by it. Policymakers should consider removing barriers as a means of empowering nurses to provide empathic care.