title: Compassion Satisfaction and Compassion Fatigue Among Critical Care Nurses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although critical care nurses gain satisfaction from providing compassionate care to patients and patients' families, the nurses are also at risk for fatigue. The balance between satisfaction and fatigue is considered professional quality of life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To establish the prevalence of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in adult, pediatric, and neonatal critical care nurses and to describe potential contributing demographic, unit, and organizational characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional design, nurses were surveyed by using a demographic questionnaire and the Professional Quality of Life Scale to measure levels of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nurses (n = 221) reported significant differences in compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue on the basis of sex, age, educational level, unit, acuity, change in nursing management, and major systems change.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Understanding the elements of professional quality of life can have a positive effect on work environment. The relationship between professional quality of life and the standards for a healthy work environment requires further investigation. Once this relationship is fully understood, interventions to improve this balance can be developed and tested.
authors.affiliation: Tara L. Sacco is a visiting assistant professor at St John Fisher College, Wegmans School of Nursing, and a clinical nurse specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.Susan M. Ciurzynski is a senior advanced practice registered nurse, Golisano Children's Hospital, University of Rochester Medical Center, and an associate professor of clinical nursing at the University of Rochester School of Nursing.Megan Elizabeth Harvey is a registered nurse II at the burn and pediatric intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. At the time of this project she was a nurse leader for the Kessler Family Burn/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at the University of Rochester Medical Center.Gail L. Ingersoll (deceased) was the director of the Clinical Nursing Research Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, at the time of this project. tsacco@sjfc.edu.
authors.forename: Tara L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Sacco
authors.affiliation: Tara L. Sacco is a visiting assistant professor at St John Fisher College, Wegmans School of Nursing, and a clinical nurse specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.Susan M. Ciurzynski is a senior advanced practice registered nurse, Golisano Children's Hospital, University of Rochester Medical Center, and an associate professor of clinical nursing at the University of Rochester School of Nursing.Megan Elizabeth Harvey is a registered nurse II at the burn and pediatric intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. At the time of this project she was a nurse leader for the Kessler Family Burn/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at the University of Rochester Medical Center.Gail L. Ingersoll (deceased) was the director of the Clinical Nursing Research Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, at the time of this project.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ciurzynski
authors.affiliation: Tara L. Sacco is a visiting assistant professor at St John Fisher College, Wegmans School of Nursing, and a clinical nurse specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.Susan M. Ciurzynski is a senior advanced practice registered nurse, Golisano Children's Hospital, University of Rochester Medical Center, and an associate professor of clinical nursing at the University of Rochester School of Nursing.Megan Elizabeth Harvey is a registered nurse II at the burn and pediatric intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. At the time of this project she was a nurse leader for the Kessler Family Burn/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at the University of Rochester Medical Center.Gail L. Ingersoll (deceased) was the director of the Clinical Nursing Research Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, at the time of this project.
authors.forename: Megan Elizabeth
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.affiliation: Tara L. Sacco is a visiting assistant professor at St John Fisher College, Wegmans School of Nursing, and a clinical nurse specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.Susan M. Ciurzynski is a senior advanced practice registered nurse, Golisano Children's Hospital, University of Rochester Medical Center, and an associate professor of clinical nursing at the University of Rochester School of Nursing.Megan Elizabeth Harvey is a registered nurse II at the burn and pediatric intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. At the time of this project she was a nurse leader for the Kessler Family Burn/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at the University of Rochester Medical Center.Gail L. Ingersoll (deceased) was the director of the Clinical Nursing Research Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, at the time of this project.
authors.forename: Gail L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Ingersoll
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000068376:Compassion Fatigue; D064648:Critical Care Nursing; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult