Compassion Fatigue and Burnout in Nurses Who Work With Children With Chronic Conditions and Their Families

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Compassion Fatigue and Burnout in Nurses Who Work With Children With Chronic Conditions and Their Families Introduction Choosing the career path of a pediatric nurse can be exceptionally rewarding, with that comes many trials and tribulations. This research paper will be discussing a pilot study done on compassion fatigue and burnout in nurses who work with children with chronic conditions and their families. The goal of this study was to identify the triggers, impacts, and coping strategies pediatric nurses use to manage compassion fatigue and prevent burnout. Compassion fatigue, meaning the natural behavior and emotional demands one experiences with helping or wanting to help a traumatized person, and burnout, the complete inability to cope with a stressor, exhaustion, and decreased sense of personal accomplishment, must be recognized, acknowledged, and dealt with immediately. (Maytum, Bielski Heiman, Garwick, 2004) Purpose The main goal of this study was to analyze various types of coping strategies pediatric nurses use to manage compassion fatigue and prevent burnout when working with children and their families with unique chronic conditions. The second goal was to identify different types of signs, symptoms, and triggers of compassion fatigue endured only by pediatric nurses to see if these triggers are unique to working with children with chronic conditions. With a current scarcity of nurses in the United States, it is crucial to find effective ways to prevent burnout and manage compassion fatigue. Nurses need to be able to recognize signs of compassion fatigue and establish a variety of coping strategies to minimize fatigue that may lead to burnout. Execution A qualitative descriptive methodology (... ... middle of paper ... ...mptoms and triggers of compassion fatigue. This article gives great examples of the triggers and symptoms that cause compassion fatigue. Being aware of these triggers and having proper knowledge of coping strategies can prevent burnout. For example, they need to be aware of professional boundaries, and have proper support systems. This article is extremely educational for a M.A. entering the medical field or for a medical assistant that has ten years of experience. Works Cited Maytum, J. , Bielski Heiman, M & Garwick, A. (2004). Compassion fatigue and burnout in nurses who work with children with chronic conditions and their families. JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE, 18(4), 171-179. Charles, F. R. (2004, Febuary 12). Compassion fatigue: an introduction. Retrieved from http://www.giftfromwithin.org/html/What-is-Compassion-Fatigue-Dr-Charles-Figley.html

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