A nurse is spending time with a patient,who has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.The patient states that he or she is frightened about the diagnosis and feels overwhelmed.The nurse responds,"It sounds to me like you are feeling very scared right now." Which communication technique did the nurse use?

A) Sympathy
B) Empathy
C) Focusing
D) Self-disclosure

Empathy is the ability to understand and accept another person's perspective.Although no one can ever totally know another's experiences,a nurse can try to understand what the person is experiencing.Focusing directs conversation to a specific topic or issue when a discussion becomes unclear.Self-disclosures are personal statements intentionally revealed to the other person.Sympathy is the concern,sorrow,or pity that you feel for a patient when you personally identify with his or her needs.Unlike empathy,which tries to understand a patient's experience,sympathy takes a subjective look at the patient's world ("Oh,I know just what you mean.I hate feeling that way.").