# 029 Responding to Patient Emotion, 2nd ed

Introduction:  Listening to, recognizing, and responding to patient emotions is an essential skill for physicians who care for dying patients. We often think of this skill as innate—either we have the skill as an attribute of our personality, or we don’t. In fact the skill of responding empathetically to patient emotions can be learned. This fast fact provides eight tasks that guide you in responding to patient emotion.