Discuss the Impact of Relationships (Client/Nurse, Coworker) and Incidence of Compassion Fatigue
Discuss the Impact of Relationships (Client Nurse, Coworker) and Incidence of Compassion Fatigue
Discuss the impact of relationships (client/nurse, coworker) and incidence of compassion fatigue. How this can negatively or positively impact client care? Share some of the strategies that can be used to prevent compassion fatigue.
Fatigue Due to Compassion
Compassion fatigue is a term that refers to the mix of emotional, spiritual, and physical exhaustion associated with caring for a patient who is experiencing substantial physical and emotional discomfort.
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As a newly registered nurse upon graduation, I used to overwork myself, working long hours and even extra to ensure that all patients were attended to.
All of the other nurses regarded me as a cheerful and sympathetic individual.
However, after a few months, I began to feel burned out.
I had no notion I was suffering from compassion fatigue.
Compassion fatigue, as indicated in the article, has several symptoms with burnout (Mennella, 2018).
The two can be distinguished, however, by examining the development of symptoms and their effect on the carer.
Burnout symptoms manifest more gradually and may manifest as indifference, withdrawal, and alienation from the patient and work environment.
On the other hand, compassion fatigue can be more acute when symptoms manifest and may drive over participation in patient care (Waddill-Goad & Sigma Theta Tau International, 2016).
Compassion fatigue also impairs a nurse’s ability to offer high-quality treatment.
Compassion weariness, on the other hand, can be avoided in a variety of ways.
Several of these strategies include educating yourself about the risks and symptoms of compassion fatigue, practicing self-care, establishing emotional boundaries, engaging in extracurricular activities and hobbies, cultivating healthy friendships outside of the work environment, keeping a journal, boosting your resiliency, identifying workplace strategies, and employing positive coping strategies (Todaro-Franceschi, 2019).
Adhering to the aforementioned measures can assist a nurse in avoiding compassion fatigue.
Review the following article:
Mennella, H. D. A.-B. (2018). Compassion Fatigue in Nursing: an Overview. CINAHL Nursing Guide. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.rasmussen.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nup&AN=T904765&site=eds-live
The compassion and empathy shown by healthcare, emergency and community service professionals can prove psychically, mentally and economically costly. In short, exposure to patients or clients experiencing trauma or distress can negatively impact professional’s mental and physical health, safety and wellbeing, as well as that of their families, the people they care for, and their employing organizations. The term compassion fatigue (CF) was coined to described the phenomenon of stress resulting from exposure to a traumatized individual rather than from exposure to the trauma itself [1]. An often extreme state of tension and preoccupation with the emotional pain and/or physical distress of those being helped can create a secondary traumatic stress (STS) for the caregiver [2,3], and, when converged with cumulative burnout (BO), a state of physical and mental exhaustion caused by a depleted ability to cope with one’s everyday environment [4,5,6], CF results.
CF is characterized by exhaustion, anger and irritability, negative coping behaviours including alcohol and drug abuse, reduced ability to feel sympathy and empathy, a diminished sense of enjoyment or satisfaction with work, increased absenteeism, and an impaired ability to make decisions and care for patients and/or clients [7]. The negative effects of providing care are aggravated by the severity of the traumatic material to which the caregiver is exposed, such as direct contact with victims, particularly when the exposure is of a graphic nature. This places certain occupations, such as healthcare, emergency and community service workers, at an increased risk of developing CF and potentially more debilitating conditions such as depression and anxiety [8], and even posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [9]. These conditions are known to increase sickness absence, psychological injury claims, and job turnover, and negatively impact productivity.
Compassion fatigue (CF) has been variously defined, and the related concepts of BO, STS and vicarious traumatisation (VT) are often used interchangeably and incorrectly to describe the phenomenon. BO and STS are related to CF, but as defined by Stamm, they are two distinct outcomes of exposure [10]. As demonstrated by Figure 1, BO and STS arise from separate failed survival strategies [11]. BO arises from a assertiveness-goal achievement response and occurs when an individual cannot achieve his or her goals and results in “frustration, a sense of loss of control, increased willful efforts, and diminishing morale” [11]. Alternatively, STS arises from a rescue-caretaking response and occurs when an individual cannot rescue or save someone from harm and results in guilt and distress [11]. Subsequently, STS and BO lead to CF if the aforementioned symptoms are not mediated by a third, equally important concept of compassion satisfaction (CS). CF and CS can be seen as the positive and negative consequences of working with individuals who have experienced or are currently experiencing trauma or suffering [10]. As a result, a substantial amount of evidence suggests CS is an important part of the whole [12], thus increasing the significance of building resiliency and the transformation from negative to positive aspects [10,13,14].