Compassion Fatigue

One of the several duties a nurse has is to care compassionately for the sick. Nursing is more than passing medicine and preparing people for surgery. When caring for the sick, it is about caring for the whole person, including mind, body, and soul. Patients want to see the care they receive coming from the nurse’s heart. This can be shown in several ways including taking time with patients, praying with patients, and respecting their feelings and choices made according to their treatment. Sometimes nurse’s can be overwhelmed with their job requirements and duties that they become fatigue compassionately fatigue. Compassion fatigue is described as the final result of a progressive and cumulative process that is caused by prolonged, continuous, and intense contact with patients, the use of self, and exposure to health (Coetzee & Klopper 2010). There are ways to try and prevent this such as recognizing warning signs or problems and maintaining good health. Compassion fatigue is something that affects the care a nurse gives and shouldn’t be ignored, but only addressed and prevented.
Due to the high demands of a nurse’s profession, becoming compassionate fatigue can happen so easily at some point during his or her career. As busy as a nurse can be, it is important that they take time and recognize warning signs that will soon bring them to a level that will compromise their job. To avoid added stress when caring for patients, a nurse must be competent in her job. When a nurse feels a sense of decreased personal satisfaction and accomplishments, it is added weight on her shoulders. When a patient needs immediate care and the nurse is unsure of what to do next, it can become very stressful very quickly. Having a sense of inadequacy can lead to anger that can be shown during patient care and patients are observing. When a patient senses this, it can lead to anxiety, irritability, and restlessness that can lead to a deteriorating condition for the patient and the