Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
reminds you of someone else, that you care about, that’s probably
where a lot of it comes from” (Henderson, 2001, p.134). Moreover,
she reports that nurses’ responses to specific patients are possibly
mediated by previous personal or professional experiences
(Henderson, 2001). This can be explained by the words of Stein
(1917/1970) who describes “reflexive sympathy” as one “where my
original experience returns to me as an empathized one” (p.18).
It is also reported how student nurses described, in their journals of
clinical practice experience, that “the act of identifying and
empathizing with patients appeared natural and immediate”
(Lemonidou et al. 2004, p.125), and that the students’ “thoughts
and actions were driven by their emotions and by compassion”
(Lemonidou et al. 2004, p.131). Moreover, it also suggests the
impulsiveness of empathy, and its ability to ‘just happen’. The work
of Scheler (1992) on identification supports this notion. He argues
that irrespective of the type of identification, it is “always automatic,
never a choice or of mechanical association” (p.66). Furthermore,
the “unconscious dimensions” of identification influence the
development of interactions with others “beyond our conscious
awareness” (Bondi, 2003, p.68).
Many raise the role of imaginative identification in relation to
empathy. Lemonidou et al. (2004) discuss empathy as requiring
“imaginative identification” (p.133). Similarly, Patistea (1999)
relates “imaginative identification” with “pseudo-engagement”
(p.89), while Smyth (1996) discusses empathy as an art and argues
that it is “the most critical dimension of the caring relationship…and
demands imagination and creativity” (p.934). This view is
supported by the writings of Scheler (1992) on identification, who
presents a useful perspective on this topic. He suggests that to
attain identification with the other, the one identifying must be “at
least unmindful, of all spiritual individuality; he must abandon his
spiritual dignity and allow his instinctive life to look after itself”
(p.66).
Returning to the description of ‘clicking’ with patients described by
nurses in this study, Stein’s theory argues that empathy is given
“after the fact” in that it cannot be made happen but “catches us in
its process” (White, 1997, p.254). This is termed the “Z factor, an
unspecified relational quality” (van Manen, 2002, p.279) that cannot
be described. The writings of Buber (1955/2002) are also relevant
to the interpretations gleaned in the study. He proposed that
dialogue between ‘you’ and ‘I’ can lead to a special moment where
empathy erupts suddenly and spontaneously. He further proposes
that this flash of empathy cannot be manufactured. Maatta (2006)
argues, however, that Buber’s view of empathy is perhaps a bit
- 291 -