Um...You know...It's Not...That Bad??

One thing that more expierenced nurses are constantly telling me is that it will get easier to take care of patients who have received bad news.  However, I find this a little bit sad.  I hope that it doesn't get easier for me...because I don't want to be that calloused or hard. 
This past week I cared for a young man who had been admitted for meningitis signs and symptoms.  He was treated with antibiotics and he started to get better.  Then he began to get worse and none of the doctors could figure out why.   He was just not responding the way he should to the treatment.  So of course, the MDs ordered a ton of blood work and other tests. 
The patient was anxious as he waited for the results.  He said he had an idea of what the result would be, but he was hoping it wasn't going to come back as HIV.  Two days later, the results came back and it was indeed HIV.  The MD went into tell the patient just as I arrived for my shift.  The MD came out of the room to find some tissues and it was clear that it was hard on her too, as she was crying. 
It was a tough night caring for this patient, because 1) what do you say when one hears this news 2) how do you help him accept the results. 
He was very depressed and sad throughout the night, but it was clear that he was definately working through the five stages of grief and by morning, he was well onto his way to acceptance.  He was even telling his family members and friends. 
It was difficult working with him and not knowing what to say, because it's easy for me to say all the right things, but it means nothing since I don't really know what its like. 
Although I may have lots of occasions where patients receive bad news, I hope that it will always bother me a little bit.  I hope that I never become so hard and calloused that I can not feel empathy for my patients.