Compassion fatigue and satisfaction among nurses at a state psychiatric hospital: An opportunity to educate
This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 31234104; ProQuest document ID: 3030941273. The author still retains copyright.
Abstract
Background: Due to the nature of their work, psychiatric nurses at Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital (NOPH) encounter traumatic and emotionally exhausting situations almost every day. This exposure increases work-related stress, trauma, and vulnerability to compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout. CF and burnout can result in emotional and physical fatigue that affects one's ability to care for others. One can increase resilience and compassion satisfaction (CS) by identifying CF's early indications and symptoms and mastering efficient self-care techniques. Aim: This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project aims to bring awareness to psychiatric nurses at NOPH about CF and burnout and educate them on ways to improve resiliency and compassion satisfaction as professional nurses. PICOT: How do psychiatric nurses at NOPH (P) who are at increased risk for CF benefit from a webinar-based educational intervention (I) to identify and reduce symptoms of CF and improve compassion satisfaction (O) one month after intervention (T) compared to preintervention (C)? Design: Psychiatric nurses completed Professional Quality of Life surveys (ProQOL 5) (Stamm, 2010) before and one month after an educational intervention designed to teach about CF and self-care strategies. Comparisons of ProQOL scores, which measure compassion satisfaction and CF (burnout and secondary trauma scores), determined if an educational intervention effectively improved CS and reduced CF (significance level at p<0.05). Implementation Plan/Procedure: Psychiatric nurses received a one-hour educational intervention on CF via their work email. The educational intervention's contents included TED talks, PowerPoint presentations on the extent of the CF problem, common symptoms, and outcomes, and resources to combat CF, such as mindfulness. Nurses were given pre- and post-intervention ProQOL 5 along with a demographic survey. Surveys were administered pre-intervention and one month after intervention. The survey results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: A total of 27 psychiatric nurse participants completed all required activities for this project. Most participants were women between the ages of 30-50. Compassion Satisfaction significantly increased (p<0.001), but burnout did not post-intervention (p=0.179). The results suggest that a well-designed educational intervention may improve CS. However, much work must be done to reduce burnout and CF among psychiatric nurses. With support from organizational leaders, it is necessary to establish regularly scheduled education to help promote nurses' compassion, work satisfaction, and resiliency to combat CF.
