North York General Hospital values the ability to show compassion toward our patients and colleagues. Give an example of a time you used an empathetic approach to a patient's situation and why was that approach important for the situation?

"Working in pediatrics, I approach every child with an empathetic and understanding approach as these patients often feel very vulnerable and scared. I have several ways of demonstrating empathy towards patients that are very effective. Recently, I was with a four year old that was receiving immunizations and she was obviously very scared of the shots. To begin, I listened to her talk about how scared she was for the pain. I noticed that her mother was holding a stuffed animal and I asked if it was hers. She explained that the rabbit's name was Mr. Fluffy and I told her that it would probably be wise for him to get his immunization as well because the shots would help ensure that he wouldn't get sick in the future. I called my colleague in and we prepared an empty syringe. As I prepared the girl for her shots, I talked her through how both her and Mr. Fluffy both needed the shots and she took the shot with little pain. She thanked me for ensuring that both her and her bunny were safe now!"