Compassion fatigue within the nursing profession : a concept analysis
Abstract
Nurse practitioners have a duty to compassionately care for the sick, wounded, traumatised and weak patients in their charge, which personally exposes them to the patients' pain, trauma and suffering on a daily basis. In addition to this, nurse practitioners work in demanding and dire circumstances, which influences not only their well-being, but also their ability to provide compassionate care. The result is a nursing workforce that is experiencing compassion fatigue. The aim of this study was to define compassion fatigue within the context of the nursing profession, through achieving three objectives which were guided by a philosophical inquiry design, used along with qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research strategies. The first objective was to conduct a concept analysis of compassion fatigue in order to construct a connotative (theoretical) definition. Using the concept analysis method of Walker and Avant (2005) which is based on the original method of Wilson (1987), the characteristics of compassion and fatigue were listed, ordered and reduced to identify the defining characteristics (connotations) and categories of compassion fatigue. These defining characteristics (connotations) and categories were used to clarify the meaning of compassion fatigue through the construction of a connotative (theoretical) definition. A model case, borderline case and contrary case were described to confirm the defining characteristics (connotations) of the concept. The categories and defining characteristics (connotations) of compassion fatigue were further established through a literature control that grounded the findings of the concept analysis. The second objective was to identify and describe the empirical indicators of compassion fatigue in order to construct a denotative (operational) definition. The empirical indicators were identified from the characteristics (connotations) of compassion fatigue and the literature control. These listed empirical indicators were then ordered and divided, so as to permit the synthesis of a denotative (operational) definition of compassion fatigue. The third objective was to describe a conceptual framework through an integrative literature review. The main constructs embedded in compassion fatigue, namely the environment, the nursing practice, and the nurse practitioner, were described in detail and the relationship between these factors and compassion fatigue explicated, with their interconnectedness being graphically presented in a conceptual map. The findings reveal that there is an urgent need to make a concerted effort to deal with compassion fatigue, which is calamitous for the nursing profession. The recommendations for practice, education and research crystallize out of these findings.
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- Health Sciences [2060]