Coming Back From the Abyss: Recovering From Compassion Fatigue
Introduction
The authors of Lying Down in the Ever-Falling Snow objective is to expand the understanding of compassion fatigue by studying what it is like to experience the condition. They discuss the results of their phenomenological study of health professionals from a variety of aspects, with the intent to display a description of a comprehensive range of compassion fatigue experiences. The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary as to how the healthcare professional can begin, and continue, to recover from compassion fatigue. The key factors identified by Austin, Brintnell, Goble, Kagan, Kreitzer, Larsen, and Leier, (2013), for the recovery of compassion fatigue, is
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Education programs that supplement basic emotional-support skills in the practice setting are needed, as well as programs that focus on end-of-life training. These are needed to augment both knowledge and skill sets to increase awareness of the emotional demands facing today’s healthcare workforce. There is also the basic need for the healthcare professional to be knowledgeable in what compassion fatigue is, how to recognize the signs and symptoms, and when and where to get help. The more a healthcare professional understands how their clients affect them, the more insight they have in maximizing the effects that are beneficial, and minimizing those that pose increased risks to one’s well-being. This is a vital component the reader should be able to take away from analyzing this study but it seems to be overall lacking. As Nelson Mandela states “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. The lack of guidance in this regard is a serious limitation in this …show more content…
It is clearly articulated to the reader that until the corporate approach to health care is deterred and its’ compassionate purpose reaffirmed, these treatment ideas will not be successful. This is an important statement and is a necessary factor in compassion fatigue recovery, but there is little discussion on how this should be or could be
Statistically, over 670,000 Americans are homeless with a growing number. 48 million people go to bed hungry every night. Although we do provide shelters and opportunities in America, millions of people are homeless worldwide. Even on a more minor level there are still hundreds homeless within hometowns. Everyday we encounter the homeless whether by seeing them holding their personal signs at stoplights, confronts with beggars, or viewing them from afar under bridges. In her essay titled “On Compassion”, writer Barbara Ascher uses rhetorical techniques detailing some of her personal homeless experiences within the city life, Asher does effectively use logos, pathos,
Portnoy, D. (2011). Burnout and compassion fatigue: Watch out for the signs. Health Progress, 47-50.
Recovery and professional caring both are integrated in everyone’s career as a nurse. As nurses we need to aid individuals in the recovery process, as well as promoting a professional and caring environment for them to strive in. Jean Watsons Theory of Human Caring and the Repper and Perkins recovery model both inter-relate in recovering from an illness. In all three of the recovery models components that are inter-related, authenticity is needed to make the connections with the patients, especially with the model being based on individual adaption and preference (Bennet et al., 2014, p. 39). This is more of a contemporary way of thinking as it more relates to change and growth of the individual (Collier, 2010, p. 17). To be able to aid a patient to make a full recovery, the patient must have the resources and support, with good intentions and authenticity from those who are enabling them, such as nurses.
Within the two essays On Compassion by Barbara Lazear Ascher and On Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner, the idea of living poor is presented as a central theme. Do earthly possessions and abundance of money really make you rich? Or in reality, are you really poor because you're focusing more on self-involvement rather than compassion and thoughtfulness towards other individuals? According to dictionary.com, the definition of poverty is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor. Of these two essays, On Compassion is more effective to its purpose.
Compassion fatigue is a complex form of secondary traumatic stress often experienced by nurses and other health care professionals due to their stressful work environment. Compassion fatigue is extreme exhaustion that penetrates all aspects of one’s wellbeing, including the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual aspects of life (Murphy-Ende, 2012). Dealing with children who are both chronically ill or in palliative care is known to be extremely stressful. Not only are nurses faced with dealing with the physical symptoms of their patients, they also must attend to their fragile emotional state and be of assistance to their anxious family members. Oncologic diagnoses can put a child and their family into turmoil. Since the nurse is the first, and most constant point of contact, they are often the ones who become responsible for ensuring well-being of the entire family throughout the ...
...nate in their work and genuinely care for their patients, but to do this they must set professional and personal boundaries and be aware of the effect pain; trauma and death may have on their lives. According to Bush (2009), nurses must learn forgiveness and love themselves to prevent and overcome compassion fatigue. “Nurses should treat themselves with the empathy and compassion that they give others” (Bush, 2009, p. 27). Nurses should take time to nurture themselves by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet. They should also continue to participate in activities that they enjoy, get plenty of rest, and have a sense of self-awareness throughout their career. Additional resources are available to any caregiver to educate themselves on compassion fatigue at The Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project’s web site at http://www.compassionfatigue.org/index.html.
Many researchers have examined compassion fatigue in regards to individuals who work closely with children in child welfare. As more research has developed there have been several prominent themes that have emerged. Compassion satisfaction, a stable support network, compassion fatigue measurement scales, self care, and trainings have been found to support foster parents and promote strengths that reduce the risk of compassion fatigue and burnout. These themes have allowed professionals and foster parents alike become more effective in their carer roles.
Compassion can be one of the most powerful tools in the world to bring about change. With so many problems in our world today, everyone needs a little compassion. I have always had this driving feeling to help people, and I would like to aid others in discovering their own sense of compassion, especially in the case that helping someone may be of a disadvantage to yourself. This sense of compassion that I have makes me a stellar candidate for the Presidential Scholarship and SLU a perfect college for me.
...e with compassion fatigue will be of no use to help with the patient’s emotional and spiritual needs. The emotions of both the nurse and the patient needs to be met in order to establish good communication and compassionate care between the two.
The nursing theories that are currently in place in the emergency room to promote professional growth and development are vital; however, there are other nursing theories that could be implemented to help improve professional growth and development. A theory that should be implemented to more effectively promote professional growth and development is Orem’s theory of self-care deficit. Orem’s theory is considered a “realistic reflection on nursing practice” (McEwen & Wills, 2014, p. 146). If the nurse is not taking care of him or herself, “stress [can] accumulate [and the] nurse can … become angry, exhausted, depressed, and sleepless” (Ruff & Hoffman, 2016, p. 8). By the nurse having these feelings he or she is not able to take care of him
This theory “Focuses on the human component of caring and the moment-to-moment encounters between the one who is caring and the one who is being cared for, especially the caring activities by nurses as they interact with others” (Kearney-Nunnery, 2016, p. 49). Healthcare systems have been focusing more on curing than caring. The costs of non-caring are quality, safety and medical errors. Inadequate staffing further distances the relationship between nursing and patients. When the patient feels like an object, they become dissatisfied (Pajnkihar et al., 2017). If management can apply a caring approach to administration, they will see the benefits of nurses spending more time with patients. This restores nursing to promote wholeness and healing. Focusing on a caring approach promotes adequate staffing to facilitate the nurse patient
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A tenet of Buddhist philosophy for centuries, self-compassion has recently emerged as a promising intervention in Western Psychology with the potential to yield greater life satisfaction, social connectedness, emotional intelligence, and happiness while minimizing anxiety, depression, shame, fear of failure, and burnout (Barnard & Curry, 2011). In Buddhist tradition, a self-compassionate individual responds to his/her personal suffering with wisdom, loving-kindness, and mindfulness that extends beyond the self to all others who are suffering (Reyes, 2011). The Western definition of self-compassion derives mainly from the work
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