Application of Concept Analysis to Clinical Practice Concept analysis seeks to determine structure, function, attributes, and characteristics of a concept which serves to provide common understanding of the term so that future research endeavors find the concept clearly communicable and increasingly measurable. (Smego, 2010.) Compassion Fatigue (CF) within the nursing profession needs to be probed more critically and monitored for trends among certain subspecialties of nursing. Compassion fatigue or otherwise known as Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder is clinically defined as, “The emotional residue or strain of exposure to working with those suffering from the consequences of traumatic events. It differs from burn-out, but can co-exist. …show more content…
This particular concept of Compassion Fatigue can be a very vague abstract phenomenon because defining what the signs and symptoms of Compassion Fatigue are, is very obscure and fuzzy. Nurses do not always or often report that they are suffering from Compassion Fatigue and may associate the symptoms with employment burn out or unrelated health concerns. It is important for nurses to become knowledgeable about Compassion Fatigue symptoms and intervention strategies and to develop a personal plan of care so as to achieve a healthy work life balance. Equally as important is that healthcare systems invest in creating healthy work environments that prevent Compassion Fatigue and address the needs of the nurses who are suffering from Compassion Fatigue ("Compassion Fatigue: A Nurse’s Primer," 2001.) While the concept of Compassion Fatigue, Burn Out and Compassion Satisfaction has been analyzed by authors Mooney et al, this is only a small portion of understanding Compassion Fatigue in the Oncology Unit and what steps to take to combat or prevent Compassion Fatigue in new nurses on the unit. Author Melonie McEwen reflects that expert practice and enhanced education lead advanced practice nurses to recognize commonalities in phenomena that suggest the need for inquiry (MCEWEN, 2018, p. 50). Compassion Fatigue is not a new concept or idea but developing the whys and hows of the prevalence of Compassion Fatigue should be investigated as well as more effective interventions so that the nurse does not jeopardize patient safety or job
It is written into our ethical guidelines, it is featured in our entry to practice standards and it is perpetuated through imagery of the caring nurse (Appendix 1). And there is no denying compassionate care is good for patient outcomes (CNA, 2010). Yet, the continual depiction of nurse as synonymous with compassion and selflessness, can make it difficult for nurses to come forward or take time off when they are experiencing compassion fatigue. In a CNA (2010) study, nurses expressed ethical distress at coming forward about experiencing compassion fatigue because it conflicted with their ideas of ideal nursing practice (CNA, 2010). Moreover, nurses felt a professional obligation to provide care for those in need despite feeling apathetic or have limited empathy (CNA,
The issues of nursing burnout and compassion fatigue are an important one in part, because of the ongoing nursing shortage across the united states. Per the American colleges of nursing “the U.S. is projected to experience a shortage of Registered Nurses (RN’s) that is expected to intensify as Baby Boomers age and the need for health care grows” (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2017). The ACA fact sheet cites several reasons for this including; the increasing needs of an aging population, healthcare reform, decreased enrollment in nursing programs, shortages of nursing faculty, large portions of working nurses
Recent literature reports that there is a nursing shortage and it is continually increasing. Data released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011) projects that the shortage, would increase to 260,000 by the year 2025. AACN (2011) also reported that 13% of newly registered nurses changed jobs and 37% were ready to change within a year. A study conducted reports that there is a correlation between higher nursing workloads and nurse burnout, retention rates, job dissatisfaction and adverse patient outcomes (Vahey & Aiken, 2004). Among the nurses surveyed in the study, over 40% stated that they were suffering from burnout while 1 in 5 nurses intended
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 ...
One of the most serious issues in nursing, that can affect a nurses career is nursing burn- out. According to the article “Where have all the nurses gone”, current nurses that are practicing, report high rates of job dissatisfaction (which is part of burn out) and 1 of 5 nurses may quit nursing in the next 5 years (Dworkin, 2002). Burnout is associated with nurses not coming in to work, not feeling satisfied when doing their job, high turnover rates and a lack of commitment to the work (Katisfaraki, 2013). If a nurse becomes burned- out, they may not take care of their patients as well and could make mistakes with medication administration. A study performed in the United States by Dr. Jeannie Cimiottti, shows that hospitals with high burn-out rates among nurses have higher levels UTI’s, and surgical infections (World, 2012). Nursing burnout not only affects the nurse, but it also affects the patient, the nurses’ colleagues, and the nurses’ family; nursing burn out often leads to emotional exhaustion and depression, that can effect relations and communication between the nurse effected and the person they are communicating with. This paper will cover what burn-out is, who is susceptible to burn out, and treatment and prevent nursing burn out.
In the recent past, nursing has come to the forefront as a popular career amongst students across the globe. The demand for nurses has kept increasing gradually over the years. In fact, the number of registered nurses does not meet the demand of the private and public health sector. This phenomenon has resulted in a situation where the available registered nurses have to work extra hours in order to meet the patients’ needs. With this in mind, the issue of nurse fatigue has come up as a common problem in nursing. According to the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), nurse fatigue is “a feeling of tiredness” that penetrates a persons physical, mental and emotional realms limiting their ability to function normally. Fatigue does not just involve sleepiness as has been assumed before. It involves utter exhaustion that is not easily mitigated through rest. When nurses ignore the signs of fatigue, they risk the development of chronic fatigue and other health problems that may not be easily treated. Additionally, fatigue may cause nurses to lose more time at work as they may have to be away from work for several days to treat it. The issue of nurse fatigue has permeated the nursing profession to the extent of causing errors in the work performed by nurses. Fatigue causes a decrease in a nurse’s ability to make accurate decisions for themselves and their patients. It is therefore important to find ways to curb nurse fatigue such that it is no longer a problem. Nurse fatigue is a danger to the patients, organizations and to the nurses themselves and must be mitigated adequately.
Concept analysis includes defining a concept while determining related causes and outcomes. There are several different methods of completing a concept analysis; however, the Walker and Avant’s method is often utilized. This is an eight-step method that entails selecting the concept, determining a purpose, identifying antecedents and consequences, and defining empirical referents (Kalisch, Landstrom, & Hinshaw, 2009). The information obtained provides a more embedded understanding of the concept and its significance.
...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.
...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.
Burnout is a highly unusual type of stress disorder that is essentially characterized by emotional exhaustion, lack of empathy with patients, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishments. The nature of the work that healthcare practitioners perform predisposes them to emotional exhaustion. On the other hand, the lack of empathy towards patients is caused by the nurses feeling that they are underpaid and unappreciated. Numerous researches have associated burnout with the increasing rate of nurse turnover. This paper explores the causes of burnouts in nurses as well as what can be done to prevent the them.
A Review of the Fundamental Patterns of Knowing in Nursing Nursing takes on a different form of learning that reflects several different aspects and abilities that encompass a wide range of skills and forms the ways of knowing in nursing. The article, “The Fundamental Patterns of Knowing in Nursing,” incorporates multiple theories associated with the learning patterns in nursing. It is a review of literature that helps identify and understand the knowledge practiced by nurses and to better understand the nursing profession. The purpose of the paper was to evaluate the expectations of learning within the nursing realm based on the four areas of nursing that include, empirics, esthetics, personal knowledge and ethics. Empirics: The first step in learning is to understand the objective data.
Nurses want to give complete and quality care, but are unable to, due to the constant needs of their workload and inadequate staffing. They have to prioritize their patients needs based on the most critical treatments first. Then whatever time is left, they fill in what treatments they can. Some reasons that nursing treatments are missed include: too few staff, time required for the nursing intervention, poor use of existing staff resources and ineffective delegation.” (Kalisch, 2006) Many nurses become emotionally stressed and unsatisfied with their jobs. (Halm et al., 2005; Kalisch,
Compassion fatigue is defined as “The emotional residue or strains of exposure to working with those suffering from the consequences of traumatic events” (The American Institute of Stress, n.d.). Compassion fatigue occurs when healthcare workers, especially those who work with patients one-on-one daily, feel the emotional stress of their jobs starting to wear on them. For example, a person who works with a cancer patient and watches that patient worsen and finally pass away, may experience great emotional pain. Dealing with stressful situations over time could also cause compassion fatigue. One way to prevent compassion fatigue is through implementation of Schwartz rounds. “Schwartz rounds are not 'problem solving'. Instead, the focus is on the emotional experiences of staff caring for patients and they allow staff to explore, in an environment that is safe and confidential, situations that confront them.” (Thompson, A. (2013). Schwartz rounds are like support groups for healthcare workers. They allow healthcare providers to share their struggles as caregivers and solve their strugg...
Since rehab nurses frequently have the same patients for long periods of time, they witness the patients progress made from when they first began their treatment. Although they may feel happiness once their patient reaches their maximum function, they are also susceptible to compassion fatigue during treatment. Rehabilitation Nurses are constantly exposed to patients who have lost a part of who they are due to physical impairment and who need guidance in finding coping mechanisms. As a result, they are expected to replenish patient enthusiasm and provide constant support. Many believe education, training and experience will protect healthcare providers from feeling pain or loss, but compassion fatigue is inevitable especially when dealing with emotional exhaustion from work overload and patient care (Bush, 2009, pg. 26). Rehabilitation Nurses empathize with patients who are struggling to regain function or who cannot accept their new physical condition. Not all providers and all cases cause emotional distress and burnout; rather, it depends on the severity, relationship, and work environment of a Rehab Nurse (Bush, 2009, pg. 26). Regardless, all healthcare providers should take preventative care and find their own coping mechanisms that will ensure their
Nursing theory is the foundation of the nursing practice, has been researched, measured for positive outcomes, and directed nursing care since the beginning. Nurses to improve their practice of providing positive patient care if guidelines are followed can use nursing theories. The purpose of theory is to have a model to follow to deliver safe and effective care, and to achieve positive patient outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to define theory and the purpose of theory, explain the four patterns of the nursing metaparadigm and explain the importance of theory in the nursing practice.