A commentary on Compassion Fatigue in the Nursing Profession
A Commentary on Compassion Fatigue in the Nursing Profession
KLD
Rhode Island College
A Commentary on Compassion Fatigue in the Nursing Profession When we think of what key elements are required to be a nurse, there are several words that come to mind. Compassionate, caring, attentive, conscientious, diligent, and hard working are to name a few. The very attributes that highlight the nursing profession, are also the root of the cause of what is known as “Compassion Fatigue.” In the article “Countering Compassion Fatigue: A Requisite Nursing Agenda,” the author states that while nurses have a long history of bearing witness to the tragedies experienced by patients and families, their own reactions to premature death and profound loss have not been systematically addressed. Over the past two decades, researchers have studied the phenomenon described as “a nurse 's loss of ability to nurture.” Several words have been used synonymously to describe compassion fatigue, but a clear definition for compassion fatigue has yet to be established, making it difficult to clearly identify the phenomenon and react to it 's occurrence. In this article, the author aims to clarify the term compassion fatigue, and how it differs from nursing burnout. She identifies risk factors and describes the assessment of compassion fatigue, and then identifies the need to support nurses who regularly witness tragedy, and describes interventions that should occur in the workplace to confront compassion fatigue. The author describes compassion fatigue as “a progressive state of emotional unease, that evolves first from compassion discomfort, then to compassion stress and finally to compassion fatigue; “a state where the compassion energy that is expended by nurses (and others) surpasses their ability to recover from this energy expenditure, resulting in significant negative psychological
KLD
Rhode Island College
A Commentary on Compassion Fatigue in the Nursing Profession When we think of what key elements are required to be a nurse, there are several words that come to mind. Compassionate, caring, attentive, conscientious, diligent, and hard working are to name a few. The very attributes that highlight the nursing profession, are also the root of the cause of what is known as “Compassion Fatigue.” In the article “Countering Compassion Fatigue: A Requisite Nursing Agenda,” the author states that while nurses have a long history of bearing witness to the tragedies experienced by patients and families, their own reactions to premature death and profound loss have not been systematically addressed. Over the past two decades, researchers have studied the phenomenon described as “a nurse 's loss of ability to nurture.” Several words have been used synonymously to describe compassion fatigue, but a clear definition for compassion fatigue has yet to be established, making it difficult to clearly identify the phenomenon and react to it 's occurrence. In this article, the author aims to clarify the term compassion fatigue, and how it differs from nursing burnout. She identifies risk factors and describes the assessment of compassion fatigue, and then identifies the need to support nurses who regularly witness tragedy, and describes interventions that should occur in the workplace to confront compassion fatigue. The author describes compassion fatigue as “a progressive state of emotional unease, that evolves first from compassion discomfort, then to compassion stress and finally to compassion fatigue; “a state where the compassion energy that is expended by nurses (and others) surpasses their ability to recover from this energy expenditure, resulting in significant negative psychological
References: Boyle, D.,(2011) Countering Compasison Fatigue: A Requisite Nursing Agenda. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, Vol. 6,No.1, Manuscript 2.