Issues of Burnout and Compassion-Fatigue, Essay Example

Introduction

Nurses often experience burnout when they work long hours and experience high levels of stress in these roles. Therefore, it is important for nurses to recognize when they face burnout and to address these concerns as best as possible. Nurse leaders must be active participants in this process and provide support to nurses who experience burnout on many different levels. Furthermore, compassion fatigue represents another challenges for nurses which requires the full attention of nurse leaders in order to improve the quality of life for nurses working in these roles on a regular basis.

Analysis

In palliative care settings, burnout and compassion fatigue are inevitable due to the stress of working with seriously ill patients (Rossi et.al, 2012). Nurse leaders must be able to manage these situations effectively and to identify strategies to alleviate these conditions using such tools as stress reduction programs that are available to nurses who work in this field (Potter et.al, 2010).The development of an effective core strategy for nurse leaders to alleviate burnout and compassion fatigue must demonstrate a greater understanding of these concerns and how they impact nurses’ motivation, strength, commitment, compassion, and focus (Potter et.al, 2010). If any of these areas are disrupted by burnout and/or compassion fatigue, patients could ultimately suffer the consequences over time that could threaten their roles as professional nurses if left ignored or not addressed.

Conclusion

Nurse leaders must be able to provide their staff members with support and guidance in the management of burnout and compassion fatigue. These factors play a critical role in the development of effective outcomes for nurses and in providing them with the strength, courage, and focus that is necessary to support their growth as nurses. In addition, these factors support the ability of nurses to achieve a greater balance in their professional careers in order to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue.

References

Potter, P., Deshields, T., Divanbeigi, J., Berger, J., Cipriano, D., Norris, L., & Olsen, S. (2010).

Compassion fatigue and burnout. Clinical journal of oncology nursing, 14(5), E56-E62.

Rossi, A., Cetrano, G., Pertile, R., Rabbi, L., Donisi, V., Grigoletti, L., … & Amaddeo, F. (2012). Burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction among staff in community-based mental health services. Psychiatry research, 200(2), 933-938.