Combating Compassion Fatigue
Read the articles listed in the readings for this module and use them as a starting point for researching the topic of compassion fatigue, caregiver burnout, and related issues. Evaluate your sources to make sure they are academically sound and useful to your study. Compile concepts and resources to help yourself when facing burnout as you care for patients. . A Study of Job Stress, Stress Coping Strategies, and Job Satisfaction for Nurses Working in Middle-Level Hospital Operating Rooms Read “A Study of Job Stress, Stress Coping Strategies, and Job Satisfaction for Nurses Working in Middle-Level Hospital Operating Rooms” by Chen, Lin, Wang, and Hou, from the Journal of Nursing Research (2009). 2. Compassion Fatigue: Are you at Risk? Read “Compassion Fatigue: Are you at Risk?” by Bush, from the Oncology Nursing Forum (2009). 3. Coping Processes in a Multidisciplinary Healthcare Team Read “Coping Processes in a Multidisciplinary Healthcare Team -- a Comparison of Nurses in Cancer Care and Hospital Chaplains” by Ekedahl and Wengstrom, from the European Journal of Cancer Care (2008). 4. Managing Stress Read “Managing Stress in a Palliative Care Team” by Gupta and Woodman, from the Paediatric Nursing (2010). 5. Overcoming Burnout: How to Revitalize Your Career Read “Overcoming Burnout: How to Revitalize Your Career” by Espeland, from the Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing (2006). 6. Program to Combat \'Compassion Fatigue\' Read “Program to Combat \'Compassion Fatigue\',” from the Hospice Management Advisor (2010). In 1,250-1,500 words, summarize your findings. Be sure to include the following: 1.Identify the warning signs for at least five concepts of compassion fatigue. 2.Present the nature of the problems and their causes. 3.Explain the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the caregiver. 4.Finally, give examples of coping strategies and resources you can use to help you, the caregiver. Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.
Combating Compassion Fatigue
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Combating Compassion Fatigue
Compassion fatigue in health professionals is experienced when the providers possess close interpersonal contact with patients that are suffering. Their emotional limits become indistinct such that these caregivers unconsciously absorb the distress that the patients experience. The nurses become more exposed to compassion fatigue as they engage in the lives of people at very vital juncture, becoming more of partners than observers in the healthcare journeys of patients (Bush, 2009). In order to avoid or cope with compassion fatigue, seeking measures that would assist in combating the problem would be commendable. Find herein the signs of compassion fatigue that are observable through various concepts, while on the other presenting the nature of the problems encountered and their causes. It is vital to explain the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of the care giver, giving examples of the strategies and resources I would use as a caregiver to cope.
Understanding and identifying the warning signs of the compassion fatigue would be possible through several considerations that revolve around it. The ability to recognize the symptoms and warning signs would enable caregivers to take necessary actions to combat compassion fatigue in early levels before it causes serious damage. In earlier days, the term compassion fatigue was used to reflect the adverse psychosocial results that were experienced by the nurses at the emergency room, during the study of exploring burnout. Compassion fatigue has thus been explained as the natural resultant emotions and behaviors that effect when the care givers have known about an event that is traumatizing, which is experienced by a significant patient. In addition, the nurses experience stress that result from assisting or the willingness to help a suffering or traumatized person. This phenomenon is believed to be related to the therapeutic connection between the care giver and patient (Ekedahl & Wengstrom, 2008). Through that condition of trauma experienced by the patient, it triggers the response of the health care giver at numerous levels. In fact, the capacity for an individual to attain empathy as well as the ability to engage into a therapeutic relationship between the patient and health care provider is said to be essential to compassion fatigue. Most caregivers that are potential victims to compassion fatigue are those that display increased ranges of empathy as well as empathic response to the trauma, pain and suffering of patient. Some of the concepts explaining the compassion fatigue are believed to include important elements such as empathic response, empathic ability, as well as residual compassion among others. Emotional energy in conjunction with empathic response is believed to be on the lead on the formation of the therapeutic relationship. Nurses tend to produce an empathic reaction likely to result to compassion stress. Furthermore, the risk may increase when the nurse experiences continuous exposure to distress and when memories tend to elicit an emotional reaction.
The nurses that have specialized in oncology are usually compassionate and this explains the reason why they are easily affected. It is the empathetic engagement that brings them job satisfaction. Unfortunately, it can as well bring negative effects, blurring the limits between the patient and care giver where it leaves the oncology nurse in the physical and emotional distress. The compassion fatigue is mainly characterized by a continuous condition of emotional unease. It usually evolves from compassion discomfort into compassion stress and finishing with compassion fatigue (Espeland, 2006). This stage reaches a condition where the compassion power expended by the nurses or care givers exceeds their capabilities of recovering from the energy expenditure. Consequently, this causes major negative physical and psychological consequences. The compassion fatigue ought to be addressed in early stages to hinder it from causing permanent alteration to the caregivers’ ability of providing compassionate care. Caregivers realize that they have started suffering from compassion fatigue after noting such warning signs as constant anxiety and stress, lack of pleasure in practice, hopelessness, pervasive negative attitude and nightmares or sleeplessness, among others.
The physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the caregivers are very important during practice and even normal lifestyle. This is because care giving comes along with a fresh set of responsibilities which calls for a huge amount of energy and time. In addition, even though the experience of care giving may offer chances for growth with helpful experiences, it may also take a physical and emotional toll. This l...