In the passionate essay, “On Compassion,” by the respected Barbara Lazear Ascher, the author convincingly depicts her view towards how she feels about why people show compassion. Ascher’s purpose is to demonstrate to the reader the different classes of society and allow the reader to think about how people may appear compassionate but naturally have a fear that causes them to carry out compassionate acts. The author effectively and steadfastly builds the essay by utilizing an observant and speculative tone, a series of figurative language and an emotional appeal in order to convey her outlook towards the homeless and compassion.…
Having a service like yoga that can benefit caregivers of older adults with dementia is essential because it ultimately can mean that caregivers are in a better physical and mental state which then means they can better care for their loved one as well. In addition self-care for caregivers is important because “over time, the stress of helping others can cause symptoms like anxiety, sleeplessness and irritability that interfere with everyday life. This response is often referred to as "compassion fatigue." Left untreated, compassion fatigue can lead to burnout and other conditions that may not go away on their own” (2014). Thus, it’s important that caregivers strive to avoid burned-out and implementing yoga for caregivers at adult day centers…
Research among mental health care professionals, indicate that “ in a variety of roles such as nursing, social work, psychology, psychiatry, case managers and mental health workers are often required to provide a high degree of care to clients over time which can result in physical and psychological complaints often referred to as compassion fatigue”(2013). It is argued that “being affected with a stress-related condition, such as compassion fatigue or burnout, does not only affect the health care workers themselves but also anyone around them including patients who report lower satisfaction with services” (2013). This was true for Lorna Fermin a case manager at South End Community Health Center. She accepted a position with the center, in desperate need for employment after…
Compassion is defined as a sympathetic consciousness of others distress together with a desire to alleviate it (Merriam. Webster.com). It has a fundamental role among the healthcare workers. Especially among nurses, when they are indulging in bedside care for their patients. It helps the patients to relieve their stress and tension. Nurses have to go through different job description during their twelve hours shift. It start from the assessment of the patient, check vital signs, carryout various safety and comfort measures, administering medication and even to participate the resuscitative measures to save the life of a person. During this period due to emotional stress and physical fatigue make a person exhausted and drained. Nurses have to undergo the sane process many days a week for many years. So there is no surprise if any health care worker is emotionally and physically tired and upset. This is called as compassion fatigue. It can be due to the over strain and stress from the work load and demand from the patient and family. Most often it happens due to the continuous work over load, stress, inadequate relaxation time, over demanding. It can leads to the health care workers to be burn out and also leads to secondary traumatization. This assignment explores about the nature and causes of five major concepts of compassion fatigue. It also address the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the care giver and giving examples of coping strategies and resources to be used by the care giver.…
Compassion. Hidden agenda. The difference. City dweller Barbara Lazear Ascher, in her essay “On Compassion,” recalls in her own words, “a couple of brief encounters with homeless people”. While maintaining a critical tone, Ascher utilizes an anecdote, a personal experience, and appeals to her audience’s ethical values as strategies to fulfill her purpose. Ascher effectively achieves her purpose to convince her audience, people inhabiting cities, there is a lack of compassion when concerning the homeless.…
Helping others puts you in direct contact with other people’s lives. As you probably have experienced, your compassion for those you help has both positive and negative aspects. Compassion fatigue can strike the most caring and dedicated nurses, social workers, physicians and personal support workers alike. These changes can affect both their personal and professional lives with symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, intrusive imagery, and loss of hope, exhaustion and irritability. It can also lead to profound shifts in the way helpers view the world and their loved ones. Additionally, helpers may become dispirited and increasingly cynical at work, they may make clinical errors, violate client boundaries, lose a respectful stance towards their clients and contribute to a toxic work environment. It has been shown that, when we are suffering from compassion fatigue, we work more rather than less. What suffers is our health, our relationship with others, our personal lives and eventually our clients.…
Working in the healthcare field, especially in nursing, is more of a calling than a job, in this student 's opinion. It requires passionate dedication to patients, long hours and often means putting the needs of others before oneself. However, these things are the very reason that many nurses experience exhaustion, disappointment, and the ever-famous "burn out." Compassion fatigue is more common than many believe and can be serious. This paper will discuss the issues that arise from compassion fatigue and its causes,…
7). There are resources available to us to determine if we might be suffering from Compassion Fatigue. There is a self assessment test nurses can take located at www.compassionfatigue.org. Other resources available are books related to healthy care giving and decreasing personal stress. Nurses can also attend self help meetings geared towards personal joy and taking care of you first. With awareness and knowledge compassion fatigue can be prevented or recognized and managed. Nurses are deeply caring individuals but we can get tired. We must remember to be an advocate for ourselves as well as our patients. This will not only benefit the nurse themselves but ultimately their patients as well, who will receive the best of…
When a nurse experiences this type of fatigue, it is important to be aware of what is happening because their current state must be addressed and dealt with in order to prevent further complications. Compassion fatigue “is marked by increased cynicism at work, a loss of enjoyment of our career, and eventually can transform into depression, secondary traumatic stress and stress-related illnesses”(Mathieu, 2007).…
Caregivers, doing their job, always have the professional risk to get moral trauma, empathetic strain and become burn-out. These few mentioned symptoms are also called compassion fatigue. This is the specific illness of above mentioned professional groups. Compassion fatigue can be accompanied by mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional exhaustion. This can lead to inability to rejoice or have at least some positive emotions. This is the warming sign for the concept which is called Counter Compassion Fatigue with Mindfulness. Mentioned disease has the broad range of symptoms. Consequently, there is the necessity to mention at least few of them. Thus, caregivers are exposed to face the lack of enjoyment in their personal life, undue fatigue, and overheating. In addition, these people become to spend a lot of money for unnecessary things, blame others unreasonably and also have some physical problems the most common of which are toothache, headache and abdominal pain (A hospital-wide approach to combating compassion fatigue).…
Compassion fatigue is not a new concept. As long as individuals have needed help, people have come to the rescue. Originally it was identified in social workers, as they see sad, sometimes devastating situations that they must deal with on a daily basis. In 1992, Joinson identified the concept of compassion fatigue in nursing. According to Potter, Deshields, Divanbeigi, Berger, Cipriano, Norris & Olsen, (2010), Joinson identified behaviors that were characteristic of compassion fatigue, including chronic fatigue, irritability, dread going to work, aggravation of physical ailments, and a lack of joy in life. Dr. Charles Figley expanded on the concept and more formally defined compassion fatigue in 1995. Figley explained compassion fatigue as…
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the significance of Compassion Fatigue (CF) and its…
The idea of caring for others is the motivating reason that draws most people into nursing. The concept of being a supportive part of a person’s health care needs is exactly the cause of compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue can hit the best of nurses. Nurses who are highly driven and detail oriented are at a higher risk for developing compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue was a term first applied in 1992; it is described as a syndrome that occurs in nurses when caring for a patient facing life-altering or life-threatening changes resulting from an illness. Compassion fatigue is prevalent among nurses today, due to increasing patient loads, as a result of nurse shortages and hospital cut backs. Compassion fatigue in nursing should not be ignored. There are classic warning signs that someone might be experiencing compassion fatigue. Recognizing the signs of compassion fatigue and following the necessary steps to prevent and treat it can provide one with the tools needed to make their nursing career rewarding.…
Compassion fatigue is an exhaustion that affects people who meet and accompany patients or attend to people whose history is marked by suffering. Listening day after day to dramatic stories tends to exhaust vital energy of a human being and also causes physical, psychological and emotional disturbance (Reese, 2009). Compassion fatigue affects people who frequently listen to the stories of individuals who have experienced difficult situations or traumatic experiences. Compassion fatigue generally afflicts therapists, medical personnel, human resource officers, social workers, teachers and individuals who attend to patients with disability (Orosco, 2011). The paper discusses various aspects of caregiver compassion and identifies warning signs for the condition, the nature of the problems and their causes. Physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the caregiver are also evaluated to identify coping strategies and resources to help the caregiver.…
Compassion fatigue is occurring frequently all around the world. Compassion fatigue is a physical and mental manifestation of overwhelming exhaustion and emotional withdrawal that can occur in people who care for sick or distressed people over an extended period of time. Compassion fatigue has been shown to affect nurses especially because they feel guilt and shame for becoming emotionally withdrawn. With most nurses nursing is not simply what they do for a job, nursing is who they are. Helping and caring for other people is a driving force for many people to go into nursing. This drive does not just turn off when a nurse clocks out. A nurse's noble drive to be caring and helpful to all puts them at great risk for compassion fatigue. Studies…