Compassion fatigue in nursing: A concept analysis

Brief Workplace Interventions Addressing Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, and Teamwork: A Pilot Study

Burnout and compassion fatigue are problematic for nurses, patients, and organizations. Identifying brief interventions nurses can engage in while at work to address compassion fatigue, burnout, and teamwork, as burnout and teamwork are inversely related, is important for all stakeholders. This quasi-experimental pilot study sought to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of five-minute interventions on nurses' burnout, compassion fatigue, and perceptions of teamwork. Nurses were randomized into five groups: meditation, journaling, gratitude, outside, and control. Participants engaged in the interventions, the majority of shifts worked, and many expressed a desire to continue after the six-week intervention period. Cohen's d effect sizes were greatest for burnout, range 0.495-0.757, and situation monitoring, range 0.252-1.1. The journaling group had the highest burnout (-11.88%), compassion satisfaction (7.54%), situation monitoring (-21.21%), and communication (-26.47%) Delta scores. Feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of these brief workplace interventions were preliminarily established to inform a larger study.

Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, and Secondary Trauma in Nurses: Recognizing the Occupational Phenomenon and Personal Consequences of Caregiving

Burnout and compassion fatigue describe the state of health care professionals' extended stress, emotional states, and prolonged duress after events. In the past few decades, burnout and compassion fatigue have received increased focus and attention. This article summarizes the evolution in moving from viewing burnout as an individual's problem to understanding burnout as an occupational phenomenon, additionally recognizing the powerful role secondary trauma contributes to compassion fatigue. As such, the causes and addressing the solutions of burnout are multifaceted and complex. Causes of burnout stem from external pressure of caring for patients and pressure from organizational policy and practices, including unhealthy work environments, poor communication, stigma, and more. The harm from burnout and secondary trauma in health care professionals can be profound, impacting a significant portion of the workforce and manifesting in real suffering, including depression, emotional trauma, and suicide. As health care professionals are daily at risk, the need to recognize, address, and treat burnout is a priority. Both personal resilience building activities for effective stress reduction in clinicians and system-level solutions to address root causes must be utilized to address burnout.

Hope and belonging in patients with schizophrenia: A phenomenological study

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to examine in depth the senses of hope and belonging in patients with schizophrenia and factors which affect these.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The data were collected through the phenomenological interview method and interpreted using Strauss and Corbin's approach to qualitative data analysis.

FINDINGS

Patients with schizophrenia reported that having hope and feeling a sense of belonging were very important to them and patients with the same diagnosis, and that being accepted by society, being employed and being productive increased their senses of both hope and belonging.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

For the rehabilitation of patients with schizophrenia, which is a chronic disease, psychiatric nurses should carry out activities which increase their senses of hope and belonging.

Active Care In Practice: Long-Term Experiences From An Education Programme

Purpose

To explore whether the Active Care education programme has influenced the participants in practice over time and if so how.

Method and material

A hermeneutic explorative approach. Semi-structured focus group interviews and individual interviews with participants from the education programme from 2014 to 2015. Participants came from different areas in care and had different professional backgrounds. Systematic text condensation analysis based on Malterud.

Results

The Active Care programme has given the participants new knowledge that motivated, inspired and gave them power to change their practice. The new knowledge seems to give resonance in their basic values and strengthens their understanding of the importance of the users’ basic needs and right to be empowered.

Conclusion

Active teaching methods that appeal to participants help to understand and expand carers’ repertoire and increases professionalism across professions and positions. Structural factors need to be addressed to meet the goal of integrated person-centered services.

Point your SmartPhone at the code above. If you have a QR code reader the video abstract will appear. Or use:

https://youtu.be/BFMzR2wX1Yg

An evolutionary concept analysis of secondary traumatic stress in nurses

PURPOSE

The purpose of this article is to provide conceptual clarification of secondary traumatic stress (STS) in nurses.

BACKGROUND

As an empathetic helping profession, nurses are at increased risk for STS. Interchangeable usage of related terms among multidisciplinary literature has resulted in lack of conceptual clarity resulting in conflation of terms. Conceptual clarity is necessary for a foundation for further research on treatment.

METHODS

Rodgers' evolutionary model of concept analysis.

RESULTS

Nurses are predisposed to STS due to exposure, empathy, bonding, and personal factors. Essential attributes were found to be posttraumatic stress disorder-like symptoms, biological symptoms, social symptoms, and psychological symptoms. Resultant consequences included an altered worldview, interpersonal difficulties, and decreased occupational commitment.

CONCLUSION

This concept analysis, the first focusing on STS, provides conceptual clarity and a concept map of STS within the nursing population.

Combating compassion fatigue

Nurses are especially susceptible to compassion fatigue. This article offers strategies to help nurses recognize the signs of compassion fatigue, take steps to combat it, and support their coworkers.