Empathy in Healthcare: These 5 Clinical Skills Will Make You a Better Provider

Written By Jessica Vaillancourt

When I finally said, "I'm not well," I realized something that years of veterinary medical training had never taught me: You can’t logic your way through loss.

I went from diagnosing complex cases to becoming one. And in those early days, I was passed from doctor to doctor like a hot potato. Some dismissed me outright. Some were well-meaning but emotionally absent. Most were just overwhelmed.

That shuffle taught me what a gap in empathy feels like. It’s not usually cruelty, but simply the absence of recognition. A lack of presence. A computer full of data but no space for the human in the chair.

And while I believe in medical science, I also believe it’s not enough. We need empathy training in healthcare.

Why Empathy Is a Clinical Skill (Not Just a Soft Skill)

The data is clear: empathy in healthcare is not just a “nice to have.” It leads to better outcomes. 

According to Harvard Medical School and the Journal of the American Medical Association, empathy in patient care improves:

  • Patient satisfaction

  • Treatment adherence

  • Diagnostic accuracy

A 2022 NIH meta-analysis confirmed that empathy training consistently improves both provider behavior and patient perception.

And yet, we’re watching it erode.

Studies show that medical students often experience a measurable decline in empathy by the time they finish clinical rotations. 

To complicate things, up to 85% of healthcare professionals report experiencing compassion fatigue at some point in their careers.

That’s not just burnout. That’s an emotional bandwidth crisis.

So, What Is Clinical Empathy?

Let’s clear this up: clinical empathy isn’t about absorbing all your patient’s feelings. It’s not about crying in the exam room.

It’s a teachable, behavioral skill set.

According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), clinical empathy has three components:

  1. Cognitive: Understanding the patient’s perspective and emotional state

  2. Behavioral: Communicating that understanding clearly and respectfully

  3. Collaborative: Acting on that understanding to create a shared care plan

This model builds trust, improves communication, and reduces errors. And best of all, it can be taught.

Case Study: What a Classroom Moment Taught Me About Future Providers

During Occupational Therapy Month, I had the opportunity to speak at Lincoln Memorial University. The session was built around three patient case studies. 

Each one revealed the complicated layers of fatigue, grief, and identity loss that come with ME/CFS and Long COVID.

This conversation went beyond symptoms; we explored what it means to treat the whole person, and how tough this can be when caregivers or support systems still question their condition.

One student asked how to explain a condition like mine to a skeptical family member. Another student wanted to know how I take care of myself, not just medically, but emotionally. 

These were human questions that went beyond the textbook. And they taught me an important lesson: this next generation is ready to go deeper. They just need more tools and stories.

After the session, Assistant Professor Acacia Gambrel shared this:

“Embedding case studies throughout the lecture was great for keeping the students engaged and applying the content to real-life situations. We really appreciated hearing from your lived experiences.”

That’s why I teach this work. When clinical education includes real stories grounded in first-hand experience, something shifts. Students remember the moment they started to see patients as people again.

Patient Insight: Future providers remember the stories you tell more than the facts you recite. Make those stories count.

5 Clinical Empathy Skills That Will Make You a Better Provider

These five clinical empathy skills are teachable, repeatable behaviors. They’ll help clinicians connect without sacrificing their efficiency or boundaries.  

1. Listen First, Solve Later

Too often, providers are trained to fix before they’ve fully heard. But jumping to treatment can feel dismissive. This effect amplifies for patients managing chronic, ambiguous, or invisible conditions.

Try this shift: Pause before you educate. Reflect before you recommend.

“It sounds like this has been exhausting for you.”

Even a 6-second pause to reflect back what you’re hearing gives the patient a sense of psychological safety. It buys you more trust than launching directly into a checklist of next steps. 

Patient Insight: Reflecting emotion builds trust faster than advice ever will.

💡 Clinical Bonus: Patients who feel heard are more likely to follow treatment plans and report concerns early. This improves outcomes and avoids complications.

2. Validate Identity Loss

Chronic illness reshapes who a patient thinks they are, sometimes overnight. Many patients experience a profound identity rupture: they can no longer work, parent, or live how they used to. That’s when patients often take on what’s known as an illness identity.

Avoid ignoring that grief or skipping over it with quick reassurance (“At least it’s not terminal”). This can fracture trust.

Try this instead:

“It makes sense to miss who you were before this diagnosis.”
“It’s okay to be grieving, even if you’re ‘stable’ on paper.”

This tells the patient: You’re not just a condition, you’re a person in transition. This is the moment your clinical role can go from transactional to transformative.

Patient Insight: Don’t bypass grief. Normalize it.

3. Name the Emotion, Not Just the Symptom

Medical training favors objectivity, but often at the cost of emotional connection. When a patient says, “I’m so tired I can’t brush my teeth,” it’s not just a data point.

Try naming what you sense:

“That sounds frightening.”
“I hear how overwhelmed you are.”
“You’ve been managing so much with little support.”

These small pivots take less than 10 seconds but drastically shift how the patient feels about the interaction.

💡 Clinical Bonus: Emotion-labeling improves patient recall and the therapeutic alliance. Patients will communicate more openly, and participate more in decision-making.

4. Use Emotional Pacing

Just like physical pacing is crucial for patients with ME/CFS or Long COVID, emotional pacing is a crucial skill for providers. Chronic illness and mental health challenges often go hand in hand, so it’s important not to trigger information overload or further dysregulation.

Try this pacing language:

“We don’t have to solve this all today. Let’s start with one small step.”
“I want to honor how jam-packed this is. We can slow down.”

This approach respects your patient’s nervous system and mental health needs. It also helps with follow-through. You can’t build a care plan if the patient mentally left the room three topics ago.

In addition, it’s helpful to discuss expectations with your patient. Are they happy to slow down and cover less ground in one appointment? If so, you’ll feel less pressured to pack it all in, and they’ll feel more relaxed.

Patient Insight: Emotional pacing is as vital as energy pacing.

5. Follow Up on the Human

Patients don’t want to feel like cases instead of people. One of the most powerful empathy skills you can practice is intentional follow-up.

This doesn’t mean spending hours writing notes. It could be:

  • A 30-second MyChart or online portal message

  • A quick note at the start of a visit: “I’ve been thinking about what you shared last time.”

  • A verbal check-in: “How’s your energy been this week? How are you coping?”

These small acts compound. They say: You weren’t just heard. You were remembered.

Patient Insight: Continuity builds safety. Safety invites honesty.

💡 Clinical Bonus: Continuity and emotional follow-up increase the patient-physician bond. They also improve self-reporting of symptoms, especially in medically complex populations.

What Is Empathy Training? How to Get Started

Empathy skills training is a formal way to build these skills using role-play, case studies, reflection, and patient narrative. It’s widely available, but very underused.

Explore these resources and high-quality programs for more information on empathy training: 

Empathy Training Courses & Programs

💡 Pro Tip: Practice delivering bad news or explaining uncertainty with a standardized patient. It improves tone, confidence, and connection.

Compassion Fatigue: The Elephant in the Exam Room

You can’t show up fully for your patients if your tank is on empty.

Signs of compassion fatigue:

  • Irritability or emotional detachment

  • Feeling helpless, ineffective, or cynical

  • Trouble connecting with patients you normally care about

Are you starting to feel emotionally burned out at work? Here are a few tips to get started:

  1. Take 90 seconds to reflect after emotionally heavy appointments

  2. Normalize open conversations about patient impact in your department

  3. Set up regular debriefs or peer emotional support

Patient Insight: We don’t need superheroes. We need humans who stay.

Why I Teach This Work

As a former veterinarian and long-term ME/CFS patient, I’ve lived on both sides of the clinical relationship.

I understand what it’s like to make complex decisions with limited time. I’ve also been on the receiving end of confusion, dismissal, or apathy.

That’s why my workshops and classroom sessions are:

  • Time-respecting

  • Based on realistic case studies

  • Rooted in empathy without emotional burnout

“Caroline has the ability to present complex information in a digestible way. Sharing her journey with our Doctor of Physical Therapy students gave them the rare opportunity to see this complex condition from a patient’s perspective.” — Katy Rudolph, PT, PhD

From classrooms to conferences to 1:1 consulting, I help providers build emotional fluency without burning out.

Ready to Bring Empathy Into Practice?

If you're an educator, clinician, or team lead:

🎓  Book a classroom training or conference session

🧠  Start a 1:1 empathy consultation

📝  Explore more resources for you and your patients

FAQs: Empathy in Healthcare

What is the role of empathy in patient care?
 Empathy builds trust, improves adherence, and supports long-term healing.

Is teaching empathy effective, and can it be learned?
 Yes. Through storytelling, simulations, and structured programs.

How do I show empathy without overextending myself?
 Use reflective listening, emotional pacing, and team-based support strategies.

What’s the ROI of empathy training?
 Better patient retention, improved team morale, fewer communication breakdowns.

Jessica Vaillancourt
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