A Compassion Fatigue Education Presentation for Medical-Surgical Nurses

Abstract

Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to increase awareness of compassion fatigue, its’ signs and symptoms, and self-care strategies in medical-surgical nurses at a local hospital in Oakland, California.Background: Medical-surgical nurses is the single largest specialty that deals with a high number of complex patients and tasks which can cause a higher risk of becoming compassion fatigued. Interventions such as education on compassion fatigue and self-care can help increase awareness of this problem and may decrease the risk of compassion fatigue in nurses. Methods: This project used a comparative design including a retrospective pre-test focusing on nurses working in a medical-surgical unit to measure perception of learning. Demographic data and baseline Professional Quality of Life Scores were obtained. Participants then viewed an education presentation on compassion fatigue, signs and symptoms, risks, and self-care strategies. Results: Professional quality of life scores showed moderate levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress within this group of 21 participants. Pre and post mean results were statistically significant indicating participants felt they had a growth in learning after viewing the education presentation. Conclusion: Education on compassion fatigue was beneficial in providing awareness of compassion fatigue, the signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue, and strategies to decrease the risk of compassion fatigue for medical-surgical nurses at a local hospital.