Compassion Fatigue In Nursing Essay
Nursing and Health Sciences (2010), 12, 235–243
Research Article
Compassion fatigue within nursing practice:
A concept analysis nhs_526 235..243
Siedine Knobloch Coetzee, rn, rm, bcur, mcur, phd(c) and Hester C. Klopper, rn, rm, bcur, mcur, phd, mba
School of Nursing Science, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Potchefstroom, South Africa
Abstract
“Compassion fatigue” was first introduced in relation to the study of burnout among nurses, but it was never defined within this context; it has since been adopted as a synonym for secondary traumatic stress disorder, which is far removed from the original meaning of the term. The aim of the study was to define compassion fatigue within nursing practice. The method that was used in …show more content…
Risk factors and causes are the antecedents of compassion fatigue. “Risk” can be defined as a “hazard, danger, chance of loss or injury; the degree of probability of loss; a person, thing, or factor likely to cause loss or danger” (Swannell,
1986: 472), while “cause” is defined as “that which produces an effect; that by or through which anything happens” (Swannell, 1986: 80). From these definitions, it becomes clear that the main difference between these two categories is that
“risk” poses a chance or probability of developing compassion fatigue, while “cause” produces or brings about compassion fatigue.
The category of process describes the sequence of events or course of compassion fatigue, while the category of manifestations involves the consequences of compassion fatigue and depicts the physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual effects of compassion fatigue. In this study, “spiritual” refers to the nurse’s ability to seek meaningfulness through intra-, inter-, and transpersonal connection (Reed, 1992).
These identified categories and characteristics of compassion fatigue then were confirmed by means of an integrative
Research Article
Compassion fatigue within nursing practice:
A concept analysis nhs_526 235..243
Siedine Knobloch Coetzee, rn, rm, bcur, mcur, phd(c) and Hester C. Klopper, rn, rm, bcur, mcur, phd, mba
School of Nursing Science, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Potchefstroom, South Africa
Abstract
“Compassion fatigue” was first introduced in relation to the study of burnout among nurses, but it was never defined within this context; it has since been adopted as a synonym for secondary traumatic stress disorder, which is far removed from the original meaning of the term. The aim of the study was to define compassion fatigue within nursing practice. The method that was used in …show more content…
Risk factors and causes are the antecedents of compassion fatigue. “Risk” can be defined as a “hazard, danger, chance of loss or injury; the degree of probability of loss; a person, thing, or factor likely to cause loss or danger” (Swannell,
1986: 472), while “cause” is defined as “that which produces an effect; that by or through which anything happens” (Swannell, 1986: 80). From these definitions, it becomes clear that the main difference between these two categories is that
“risk” poses a chance or probability of developing compassion fatigue, while “cause” produces or brings about compassion fatigue.
The category of process describes the sequence of events or course of compassion fatigue, while the category of manifestations involves the consequences of compassion fatigue and depicts the physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual effects of compassion fatigue. In this study, “spiritual” refers to the nurse’s ability to seek meaningfulness through intra-, inter-, and transpersonal connection (Reed, 1992).
These identified categories and characteristics of compassion fatigue then were confirmed by means of an integrative