Compassion fatigue among nurses working with older adults.
Nurses who care for older patients are exposed to significant suffering and loss that can lead to the development of compassion fatigue and burnout. An exploratory descriptive study was conducted to assess compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction in a group of 42 nurses who worked on a geriatric medicine unit using the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue 5 scale. Nurses reported average levels of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction. However, new nurses reported higher levels of compassion fatigue (p < .01) and burnout (p = .02) than experienced nurses. Findings suggest the need to purposely build a supportive environment that focuses on new nurses to reduce compassion fatigue and burnout while enhancing compassion satisfaction.
Valle Vista Health System, 898 East Main Street, Greenwood, IN, 46143, USA. Electronic address: aklk@att.net.
Kay L
KL
Kolthoff
School of Nursing, Indiana University, 600 Barnhill Drive, e419, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA. Electronic address: hickman@iu.edu.
Susan E
SE
Hickman
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002055:Burnout, Professional; D000068376:Compassion Fatigue; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Burnout; Compassion fatigue; Compassion satisfaction