Compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout: A study of nurses in a large Texas health-care system

Association Between Nurses' Comfort and Confidence in Pain Management and Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue

PURPOSE

A current challenge that may exacerbate symptoms of compassion fatigue and compromise the ability to experience compassion satisfaction among nurses is pain management. This study examined the associations between nurses' comfort with administering pain management, confidence in providers' prescribing patterns and reported compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue (measured as burnout and secondary traumatic stress).

DESIGN

This exploratory study used a survey design to gather primary data from nurses via a convenience sampling method.

METHODS

A survey was created and disseminated electronically to registered nurses from September to November 2019. The survey asked about nurses' comfort administering pain medications, confidence in providers' prescribing patterns, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL).

RESULTS

While nurses reported comfort treating patients with pain and managing pain, they were less confident that providers opioid prescribing patterns. Confidence in provider prescribing was positively correlated with compassion satisfaction and negatively correlated with burnout.

CONCLUSIONS

Organizations should focus on continuing education of pain management, creating a culture of evidence-based pain management, and promoting effective communication.

Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Perfectionism in Physician Assistant Students: Implications for Wellness Curricula

Objectives

There is growing consensus that wellness strategies should be incorporated into health professions education; however, there is more to be learned about developing targeted, effective curricular interventions. Study objectives were to identify aspects of mindfulness most prominent in physician assistant (PA) students and determine which aspects of mindfulness most strongly predict well-being. The study examined cognitive patterns, protective (self-compassion) and harmful (maladaptive perfectionism), that underlie impostor phenomenon which may impact professional identity development and risk for burnout.

Methods

Newly matriculated students (n = 351) at six PA programs nationally were invited to participate. Validated survey instruments assessed mindfulness, self-compassion, maladaptive perfectionism, impostor phenomenon, and well-being. Data were assessed using descriptive statistics and linear regressions.

Results

The survey response rate was 94.8% (351/370). At the onset of training, PA students were highest in Non-judgement, followed by Observation and Description. Their relatively lowest levels were Non-reactivity and Acting with Awareness. Of the five aspects of mindfulness, Non-judgement was the strongest predictor of well-being, followed by Description and Non-reactivity. Collectively, these three abilities explained 24.62% of variance in well-being. Higher levels of maladaptive perfectionism and lower levels of self-compassion accounted for 53% of the reported level of impostor phenomenon in PA students.

Conclusion

Study results provide direction for educators when developing wellness curricula. Three of the five aspects of mindfulness examined were significant predictors of well-being. Higher levels of maladaptive perfectionism and lower levels of self-compassion accounted for experiences of impostor phenomenon in PA students. Findings suggest potential benefit from a targeted approach to implementing mindfulness curricula.

Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction and Related Factors in Pediatric Wards: A Narrative Review Study

Working with chronically ill children can overwhelm for professionals. It is necessary to study the factors related to compassion fatigue and satisfaction in order to effectively deal with it. Using a narrative review and inclusion criteria, we searched online databases for related studies from 2000 to 2023. Twelve articles were included in the final review. Understanding compassion fatigue/satisfaction will help to solve personal and professional problems and increase productivity, leading to positive outcomes for the patient, family, and the organization. This study identifies several factors that contribute to compassion fatigue (CF) in pediatric healthcare providers. These factors include workload, patient connections, lack of support, exposure to trauma, personal trauma, job dissatisfaction, and neglecting self-care. It is crucial to address these factors through targeted interventions and organizational support. Implementing evidence-based interventions shows promise in reducing the impact of CF, fostering a resilient healthcare workforce, and improving patient care.

Professional identity and sense of coherence affect the between compassion fatigue and work engagement among Chinese hospital nurses

BACKGROUND

With the continuous improvement of people's health needs, the public's requirements for medical care are also getting higher and higher. Work engagement is a positive psychological state related to the work. It is very important to maintain nurses' work engagement, however, due to many factors, the level of nurses' work engagement is not high and nursing managers should identify the influencing factors of work engagement, and take positive measures to fully improve nurses' work engagement.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the influence of compassion fatigue, professional identity and sense of coherence on nurses' work engagement.

METHODS

From January 2022 to June 2022, convenience sampling was used to select clinical nurses from 9 tertiary hospitals in Henan Province of China as the research objects for a questionnaire survey. Statistical methods included descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and the PROCESS Macro Model 4 and 7 in regression analysis.

RESULTS

The results showed that compassion fatigue was significantly negatively correlated with sense of coherence, professional identity and work engagement (P<0.01), professional identity was significantly positively correlated with sense of coherence and work engagement (P<0.01), and there was a significant positive correlation between sense of coherence and work engagement (P<0.01). Professional identity played a partial mediating role between compassion fatigue and work engagement, accounting for 46.40% of the total effect; meanwhile, sense of coherence moderated the effect of compassion fatigue on professional identity and formed a moderated mediation model.

CONCLUSIONS

Compassion fatigue has a negative predictive effect on nurses' work engagement. Professional identity and sense of coherence further explained the relationship of compassion fatigue on compassion fatigue and work engagement through mediating and moderating effects.

Relationships of organizational behavior/mission congruence with burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction among nurses

OBJECTIVE

The current study focuses on organizational culture as a determinant of well-being among nurses.

BACKGROUND

Nurse well-being is an increasing concern for organizational operations and patient care quality. There are limited studies on the aspects of organizational culture, such as leadership and perception of organizational mission, that relate to clinician well-being.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey study was conducted among nurses in a U.S. hospital. Measures were professional quality of life, organizational culture, and authentic leadership. Statistical methods were used to analyze findings.

RESULTS

Among the nurses (N = 147), after controlling for significant demographic factors, organizational culture and authentic leadership had significant correlations with burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction. In multivariate analyses, organizational culture was a significant predictor for burnout and compassion satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

This study provides empirical evidence that organizational behavior is important to staff well-being. Organizations that act with fidelity to their missions of caring and quality patient care are more likely to have nursing staff that are emotionally healthy in the workplace.

Correlation between professional quality of life and alarm fatigue symptoms among intensive care unit nurses

Introduction

Medical devices and equipment are necessary for accurate and continuous monitoring of the patients admitted to intensive care units, one of which is alarm systems. Frequent sounds of alarms can affect nurses' concentration and accuracy when providing care. Complications such as headache, fatigue, and stress occur after repeated alarms, leading to poor quality of professional life among nurses. This study aimed to determine the relationship between quality of professional life and alarm fatigue syndrome among intensive care unit nurses.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used convenience sampling to select nurses working in intensive care units from three hospitals in southern Iran in 2021 (n = 201). Data were collected using three questionnaires, including sociodemographic form, the professional quality of life questionnaire (ProQOL), and the alarm fatigue symptom (AFS) scale.

Results

The mean scores of compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout, secondary traumatic stress (STS) (subscales of the ProQOL), and AFS were 34.66 ± 7.54, 28.98 ± 7.59, 27.69 ± 5.87, and 13.48 ± 7.32, respectively. The majority of them had no or mild AFS, moderate CS, burnout, and STS. Among the study variables, only AFS were a significant predictor of CS and STS among ICU nurses. In addition, work experience in ICU, AFS, and a second job were significant predictors of burnout among ICU nurses.

Conclusions

The study results showed a significant relationship between alarm fatigue syndrome, burnout, STS, and CS. Given that more than half of the nurses in the intensive care unit in the present study experienced some degree of alarm fatigue syndrome, it is necessary to plan and implement interventions to better manage the alarms in the intensive care unit.

Prevalence and Predictive Factors of Compassion Fatigue among Healthcare Workers in Saudi Arabia: Implications for Well-Being and Support

Compassion fatigue (CF) poses significant challenges to healthcare workers' (HCWs) well-being. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of CF and identify its predictive factors among HCWs in all regions of Saudi Arabia (SA). As such, all HCWs from different disciplines in different centers were allowed to participate, resulting in 678 participants. The study tool, distributed between October 2022 and January 2023, consisted of a questionnaire created by the authors based on the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL). The ProQOL measures the positive (compassion satisfaction [CS]) and negative (CF) effects of helping those who have suffered, noting that burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) are the two subscales that constitute CF. Our findings revealed that 63.9% of HCWs experienced average STS, while 57.2% reported average BO levels. HCWs in the southern and northern regions exhibited higher STS (p-value = 0.003 and 0.010, respectively). Physicians displayed higher BO levels (p-value = 0.024). Higher levels of CS were found among older HCWs (p-value = 0.001) and lower levels among those with more years of experience (p-value = 0.004). Support at work and job, life, and financial income satisfaction were significantly and positively correlated with CS and negatively correlated with BO and STS. These findings highlight the need for tailored awareness campaigns targeting HCWs, particularly physicians, to promote well-being, enhance coping skills, and foster problem-solving techniques. Keywords: burnout; compassion fatigue; compassion satisfaction; healthcare workers; professional quality of life; Saudi Arabia; secondary traumatic stress; medical trainees' well-being.

Emotional Universe of Nurse Case Managers Regarding Care for Elderly at Risk in Spain: A Hermeneutical Study

The role of nurse case managers (NCM) involves a rarely visible emotional labor, even more when their role focuses on the care of elders at risk (EAR). Motivated by the lack of qualitative research on the emotional universe of NCM, this study explores the emotional universe (EU) of NCM regarding the care they provide to EAR in primary health care as well as the reasons that generate these emotions. An interpretative-phenomenological approach was implemented in southern Spain, with a purposive sampling that included nurses playing the NCM role for at least three years. Data collection was conducted in two periods (between September 2019 and July 2022). The primary collection tool was the semi-structured individual interview, with starting categories based on Bisquerra's EU taxonomy. The analysis followed Ricoeur's considerations, using the Nvivo software. In the NCM's EU, the recognition of the social phenomena stands out, with an open feeling of empathy regarding the desire of the EAR to continue living at home. However, there was also helplessness, resignation, disappointment, and frustration when EAR rejected their proposals. Furthermore, the system's limitations aroused compassion in the NCM and made them go beyond the limits of their role. This EU requires that their role be valued more, and higher responsiveness must be enforced to improve EAR care.

Burnout and Nursing Care: A Concept Paper

Burnout comprises a series of undetermined physical and psychosocial symptoms caused by an excessive energy requirement at work-it is a crisis in relationships with work itself and not necessarily a concern with underlying clinical disorders related to workers. Professions involving human interactions commonly involve emotional engagement, especially when the cared-for person needs assistance and support, as is the primary concern in the nursing profession. To some extent, the acknowledgment of the phenomena of burnout and how it affects people is sometimes addressed from a biomedical perspective. This concept paper aims to describe the burnout concept and reflect on the impact on nurses. Our intention with this reflection, considering the burnout impact on nurses, is to support a paradigm change in the prevention and management of burnout in healthcare contexts, promoting and fostering the well-being of nurses.