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Articles
 

Compassion Fatigue

1. "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up" Compassion Fatigue in Nurses and Non-Professional Caregivers
ISNA Bulletin, 2012 May-Jul; 38 (3): 5-12
Abstract: The idea that nurses and other professional caregivers are susceptible to what has come to be known as “compassion fatigue” has received wide-spread acceptance; however, the long-term effect of compassion fatigue on non-professional caregivers has received far less focus. As more and more emphasis is placed on home or communitybased care venues as the preferred location for meeting health care needs, the stress experienced by the non-professional caregivers will take on even greater significance.

2. Are you at risk for compassion fatigue?
By Sammartino, Erica; Michigan Nurse, 2012 May; 85 (3): 10-11
Abstract: As a nurse, do you come home from a frantic 12-hour shift feeling helpless and frustrated? Is it impossible for you to set aside the stress and anxiety long enough to get a decent night's sleep? Have you lost your smile? Do you dread the idea of going into work at all? If this rings a bell, you're showing signs of compassion fatigue.
What is 'compassion fatigue'?
Compassion fatigue is a term used to identify a combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual depletion associated with caring for patients in significant emotional pain and physical distress.

3. The incommensurability of nursing as a practice and the customer service model: an evolutionary threat to the discipline
By Austin, Wendy J.; Nursing Philosophy, 2011 Jul; 12 (3): 158-66
Abstract: Corporate and commercial values are inducing some healthcare organizations to prescribe a customer service model that reframes the provision of nursing care. In this paper it is argued that such a model is incommensurable with nursing conceived as a moral practice and ultimately places nurses at risk. Based upon understanding from ongoing research on compassion fatigue, it is proposed that compassion fatigue as currently experienced by nurses may not arise predominantly from too great a demand for compassion, but rather from barriers to enacting compassionate care. These barriers are often systemic. The paradigm shift in which healthcare environments are viewed as marketplaces rather than moral communities has the potential to radically affect the evolution of nursing as a discipline..

4. Working Through Grief and Loss: Oncology Nurses' Perspectives on Professional Bereavement
By Wenzel, Jennifer; Shaha, Maya; Klimmek, Rachel; Krumm, Sharon; Oncology Nursing Forum, 2011 Jul; 38 (4): E272-82
Abstract:  Purpose/Objectives: To determine facilitators and barriers to managing patient loss from the combined perspectives of oncology nurses and to extract essential components of a supportive intervention.
Research Approach: Qualitative, descriptive.
Setting: The comprehensive National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center of a mid-Atlantic university teaching hospital.
Participants: 34 nurses from inpatient and outpatient adult and pediatric oncology units.
Methodologic Approach: Focus groups were held with oncology staff nurses to identify challenges regarding work-related bereavement, current support for managing grief and loss, and how to support interpersonal functioning and resiliency.
Main Research Variables: Work-related bereavement, bereavement support, and interventions and management strategies for bereavement and loss.
Findings: Two primary themes emerged: dimensions of work-related loss and working through bereavement. Participants also provided many concrete suggestions for the creation of a supportive self-care environment.
Conclusions: Support issues were numerous, multilevel, and varied. However, addressing those concerns can improve job satisfaction and decrease compassion fatigue. The findings lay the foundation for appropriate interventions to assist nurses in managing those situations.Interpretation: Administrators, managers, and individuals interested in furthering the multifaceted goals of oncology care, including nurses themselves, are challenged to create and maintain mutually supportive environments for providing optimal care to patients and families..

5. Resilience: The Power Within
By Grafton E; Gillespie B; Henderson S; Oncology Nursing Forum, 2010 Nov; 37 (6): 698-705
Abstract:  Purpose/Objectives: To advance understanding of resilience as an innate resource and its potential and relevance in the management of workplace stress for oncology nurses.Data Sources: Journal articles and research results, particularly seminal literature from a variety of Australian and international journals and published texts, including government and nursing organizations.
Data Synthesis: Resilience is defined as an innate energy or motivating life force present to varying degrees in every individual, exemplified by the presence of particular traits or characteristics that, through application of dynamic processes, enable an individual to cope with, recover from, and grow as a result of stress or adversity. Literature from a wide variety of fields, including physics, medicine, theology, philosophy, psychology, and spirituality, was reviewed to build an overview of existing knowledge and evolving theories on the subject of resilience and further the understanding of resilience as an innate personal resource.
Conclusions: Innate resilience can be developed or enhanced through cognitive transformational practices, education, and environmental support. Such processes may have use in ameliorating the effects of workplace stress.Implications for Nursing: The complex nature of oncology and other specialty nursing roles creates a certain amount of inevitable stress that depletes the self and may lead to compassion fatigue and burnout. A greater understanding of resilience as an innate stress response resource highlights the need for processes that support resilience development and organizational and personal stress-management strategies for nurses to be part of mainstream nursing education..

6. Nursing work environment and nurse caring: relationship among motivational factors
By Burtson PL; Stichler JF; Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2010 Aug; 66 (8): 1819-31.
Abstract: Aim. This paper is a report of a study of the relationships among compassion satisfaction, nurse job satisfaction, stress, burnout and compassion fatigue to nurse caring.
Background. Nurse caring is the most influential dimension of patient advocation and is predictive of patient satisfaction. Qualitative studies have indicated that nurse caring is a key motivational factor impacting recruitment and retention.
Methods. A correlational study of nurses ( N = 126) was conducted in 2008 at a single, academic medical center. The six variables of interest were operationalized using four valid and reliable research instruments: (1) the Mueller McCloskey Satisfaction Scale, (2) the Professional Quality of Life Scale, (3) the Stress in General Scale and (4) the Caring Behaviors Inventory.
Results. Pearson Product-moment correlations showed statistically significant relationships between nurse caring and compassion satisfaction ( r = 0·51, P < 0·001), nurse job satisfaction subscales ( r = 0·16-0·28, P < 0·05), stress ( r = -0·21, P < 0·05), and burnout ( r = -0·22, P < 0·01). A statistically significant relationship was found between the nurse caring subscale of knowledge and skill and compassion fatigue ( r = -0·22, P < 0·01). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis demonstrated that compassion satisfaction ( R² = 0·287, [beta] = 0·536, P = 0·000) and nurse satisfaction with social interaction opportunities related to work ([beta] = 0·223, P = 0·032) explained variability in nurse caring.
Conclusion. Fostering compassion satisfaction and social interaction opportunities among nurses may improve nurse caring, potentially sustaining long-term improvements in patient..

7. Compassion fatigue within nursing practice: a concept analysis
By Coetzee SK; Klopper HC; Nursing & Health Sciences, 2010 Jun; 12 (2): 235-43
Abstract: "Compassion fatigue" was first introduced in relation to the study of burnout among nurses, but it was never defined within this context; it has since been adopted as a synonym for secondary traumatic stress disorder, which is far removed from the original meaning of the term. The aim of the study was to define compassion fatigue within nursing practice. The method that was used in this article was concept analysis. The findings revealed several categories of compassion fatigue: risk factors, causes, process, and manifestations. The characteristics of each of these categories are specified and a connotative (theoretical) definition, model case, additional cases, empirical indicators, and a denotative (operational) definition are provided. Compassion fatigue progresses from a state of compassion discomfort to compassion stress and, finally, to compassion fatigue, which if not effaced in its early stages of compassion discomfort or compassion stress, can permanently alter the compassionate ability of the nurse. Recommendations for nursing practice, education, and research are discussed..

8. Compassion fatigue: are you at risk?
By Bush NJ; Bush NJ; Oncology Nursing Forum, 2009 Jan; 36 (1): 24-8
Abstract: E .P., a 34-year-old oncology staff nurse, felt like she was losing control of her life. She felt a sense of dread and fatigue each morning when her alarm went off. How could she make it through one more day trying to balance her family life, her job, and caring for her mother, whose senile dementia was gradually worsening every day? E.P. could not really remember the last time
she felt energetic and positive, nor could she pinpoint when she began to feel so overwhelmed..

Journal - Table of Contents

9. From Journal of Nursing Adnistration (JONA), December 2012, Volume 42 - Issue 12
DEPARTMENTS
9A. Transformational Leadership and Navigating Change [Luzinski, Craig]
9B. Influencing the Language of Nursing: An Interview With T. Heather Herdman and Sue Moorhead [Adams, Jeffrey M.]
9C. The Challenges of Nurse-Physician Communication: A Review of the Evidence [Crawford, Cecelia L.; Omery, Anna; Seago, Jean Ann]
9D. How Resilient Are Your Team Members?  [Shirey, Maria R.]
9E. Academic-Practice Partnerships Fuel Future Success [Everett, Linda Q.; Bowers, Barbara; Beal, Judy A.; Alt-White, Anna; Erickson, Judith; Gale, Sharon; Gergely, Susan; Fleshner, Irene; Karshmer, Judith; Swider, Susan]
ARTICLES
9F. A New Window Into Nurse Manager Development: Teaching for the Practice  [Cathcart, Eloise Balasco; Greenspan, Miriam
9G. Bar-code Verification: Reducing but not Eliminating Medication Errors [Henneman, Philip L.; Marquard, Jenna L.; Fisher, Donald L.; Bleil, Justin; Walsh, Brendan; Henneman, Justin P.; Blank, Fidela S.; Higgins, Ann Marie; Nathanson, Brian H.; Henneman, Elizabeth A.]
9H. A Longitudinal Analysis of Nursing Specialty Certification by Magnet® Status and Patient Unit Type [Boyle, Diane K.; Gajewski, Byron J.; Miller, Peggy A. ]
9I. Engagement in RNs Working in Magnet®-Designated Hospitals: Exploring the Significance of Work Experience [Hagedorn Wonder, Amy]
9J. Quality Outcomes of Hospital Supplemental Nurse Staffing [Xue, Ying; Aiken, Linda H.; Freund, Deborah A.; Noyes, Katia]
9K. Decisional Involvement in Magnet®, Magnet-Aspiring, and Non-Magnet Hospitals [Houston, Susan; Leveille, Marygrace; Luquire, Rosemary; Fike, Angela; Ogola, Gerald O.; Chando, Shingisai]
9L. Explaining Patient Satisfaction With Outpatient Care Using Data-Based Nurse Staffing Indicators [Salin, Sirpa; Kaunonen, Marja; Aalto, Pirjo]

Conferences & Training

10. Upcoming webinar series - preventing Maori suicide
In collaboration with the Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor Maori, Victoria University of Wellington, we are producing a series of three live, interactive webinars in early 2013 sharing indigenous knowledge and perspectives on Maori suicide prevention.
Attendance at the webinars is free. More information: http://www.spinz.org.nz/page/323-webinars
•         Preventing Maori suicide: What do we need to do?
 29 January 2013
with Keri Lawson-Te Aho
•         Preventing Maori suicide: Involving whanau and community
 19 February 2013
with Di Grennell and Michael Naera
•         Preventing Maori suicide: Improving care and intervention
 19 March 2013
with Dr Nicole Coupe and Dr Lynne Russell

11.  New Zealand Rehabilitation Conference 2013
The conference will be of interest to clinicians working in the rehabilitation field, academics, policy makers and those running rehabilitation services in the public and private area. The conference will be a mixture of podium presentations, breakout sessions and pre/post conference workshops
Conference theme: Rebuilding, connecting, living
Date: 8 - 10 March 2013
Venue: Rutherford Hotel, Nelson
More info: http://www.rehabconference2013.com/

12.  Physioforward Conference 2013
The Physioforward Conference hosted by the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Otago, will be the premiere physiotherapy conference in New Zealand for 2013.
Theme: The future of physiotherapy practice in a changing health delivery climate
Date: 5 - 6 April 2013
Venue: Dunedin
More info: http://physio100.otago.ac.nz/conference/

13. New Zealand Home Health Association 2013 Conference
Theme: Squeeze, stretch and flex: home and community
Date: 10–12 April 2013
Venue: Rendezvous Hotel, Auckland
More info: http://www.nzhha.org.nz/conference/index.php

Latest Ministry of Health Publications

14. National Cancer Programme: Work Plan 2012/13
24 January 2013
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/national-cancer-programme-work-plan-2012-13

15. Resource and Capability Framework for Integrated Adult Palliative Care Services in New Zealand
22 January 2013
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/resource-and-capability-framework-integrated-adult-palliative-care-services-new-zealand

16. Annual Cold Chain Management Guide and Record
21 December 2012
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/annual-cold-chain-management-guide-and-record

News - National

17.  Fruit, veg make you calmer, happier - study
ODT - Thu, 24 Jan 2013
Diet & Nutrition - Eating more fruit and vegetables may make young people calmer, happier and more energetic in their daily life, new research from the University of Otago suggests.
Researchers from the department of human nutrition, investigated the relationship between day-to-day emotions and food consumption.
The study is published in the British Journal of Health Psychology today.
http://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/health-fitness/diet-nutrition/243501/fruit-veg-make-you-calmer-happier-study

18. Dismay at tooth decay in kiwi kids
Stuff - 20 Jan 2013
Toddlers as young as two years old are having all their teeth removed and hospitals are struggling to keep up with dental surgery as sugary drinks take a huge toll on children's teeth.
A new government report on dental care has for the first time revealed the full extent of the problem: 34,000 children under 14 had teeth removed due to decay or infection in 2012
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/8199941/Dismay-at-tooth-decay-in-Kiwi-kids

19. Smartphone skin cancer apps raise concerns
Stuff - 17 Jan 2013
Smartphone apps designed to detect skin cancer have been shown to be unreliable and could fool people into thinking a cancerous mole is benign, says new research published today.
And the Chicago researchers who tested the apps said people should not rely on them. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center study, published in Online First, found that three out of four of the apps said 30 per cent of cancerous skin lesions were of no concern.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/8188996/Smartphone-skin-cancer-apps-raise-concerns

News - International

20. New HiT for Canada
The new HiT (Health Systems in Transition) health system review for Canada has just been released. In Canada there has been a major reinvestment in public health since the cuts of the early to mid-1990s. The last two decades have produced a dense network of intergovernmental agencies, and while collaboration has succeeded in some areas (e.g. ensuring universal accessibility to hospital and physician services), it has been less effective in other areas (e.g. more effective use of IT). The Canadian government has focused on improving the timeliness, quality and safety of health care, and this has resulted in more doctors and nurses as well as an increase in the proportion of both, relative to the general population. In addition, governments have invested heavily in capital infrastructure including medical equipment, and recently, there have been improvements in quality outcomes as well as reductions in waiting times, although primary care performance remains weak in Canada.
http://www.euro.who.int/en/who-we-are/partners/observatory/health-systems-in-transition-hit-series/countries-and-subregions/canada-hit-2013
 
21. Home care study published
In Europe the demand for long-term care, of which home care forms a significant part, will increase in the decades to come. Despite the importance of the issue there is, however, a lack of up-to-date and comparative information on home care in Europe. This volume attempts to fill some of that gap by examining current European policy on home care services and strategies and by looking at some of the challenges posed by developments in society.
http://www.euro.who.int/en/who-we-are/partners/observatory/studies/home-care-across-europe.-current-structure-and-future-challenges