Compassion Satisfaction and Compassion Fatigue Among Critical Care Nurses

BACKGROUND Although critical care nurses gain satisfaction from providing compassionate care to patients and patients’ families, the nurses are also at risk for fatigue. The balance between satisfaction and fatigue is considered professional quality of life. OBJECTIVES To establish the prevalence of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in adult, pediatric, and neonatal critical care nurses and to describe potential contributing demographic, unit, and organizational characteristics. METHODS In a cross-sectional design, nurses were surveyed by using a demographic questionnaire and the Professional Quality of Life Scale to measure levels of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. RESULTS Nurses (n = 221) reported significant differences in compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue on the basis of sex, age, educational level, unit, acuity, change in nursing management, and major systems change. CONCLUSIONS Understanding the elements of professional quality of life can have a positive effect on work environment. The relationship between professional quality of life and the standards for a healthy work environment requires further investigation. Once this relationship is fully understood, interventions to improve this balance can be developed and tested

Impact of Training Frequency on Nurses\u27 Pediatric Resuscitation Skills

The ideal time frame for frequency of resuscitation skills training has yet to be determined. Results obtained from this performance improvement project using hands-on practice sessions suggest that 6 months may be an adequate time frame for retention of resuscitation skills. Professional development educators may want to consider 6-month retraining intervals for low-volume/high-risk skills such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation to optimize nurses\u27 proficiency in these life-saving competencies