How Do Nurses Overcome Compassion Fatigue?

It has been suggested that in order for nurses to overcome compassion fatigue, they need to stop focusing on the stressful aspects of being a helper and begin to consider ways in which their work brings a sense of fulfillment (Radey & Figley, 2007). The phrase compassion satisfaction is used to describe this feeling of accomplishment that results from the process of helping others and brings nurses back to the altruistic reasons they had picked the profession in the first place. Radey & Figley (2007) argued that the perception of work-related stress can be reframed as a source of strength instead of fatigue, bringing the impression of success and enjoyment in one’s role as a nurse. Through the development of compassion satisfaction, nurses will begin to notice how their roles have helped clients work through personal suffering and into a place of personal growth and responsibility (Stamm, 2005).

The concept of compassion satisfaction was derived from positive psychology in which the clinician reworks thoughts and feelings from centering on the negative aspects of working with difficult and traumatized clientele, to considering the human potential for positive progress and development (Radey & Figley, 2007). Negative thinking limits one’s potential by causing constricted thinking and limited creativity, whereas positivity contributes to a broadening of ideas and behaviors. This expanded view can enhance the nurse’s problem-solving capabilities, which can ultimately assist the client in generating new outcomes (Radey & Figley, 2007). The more frequently that the nurse focuses on the positive aspects of client-related work, the more satisfaction and value one will find in the profession (Linley & Joseph, 2007). This experience of compassion satisfaction will not only bolster the nurse’s feelings of worth, but will also improve the treatment that the patient receives (Linley & Joseph, 2007; Radey & Figley, 2007).