Reflection Empathy vs. Sympathy in the nursing role

A professional role often presented in nursing literature is for nurses to act as a patient advocate (Mallik 1997). James (not his real name) was a patient who had undergone stoma formation surgery for Crohn's disease at only 25 years of age. As I had been closely involved in his post-operative care, learning alongside him and with the clinical nurse specialist's guidance, how to change and empty his stoma bag, I knew how depressed he was about his new situation and how anxious he was about his ability to cope. He was also very concerned about other people's reactions to the stoma, particularly his girlfriend's.