AACN Essentials 1-IV: Evaluating Effect Of Compassion Fatigue On Blood Pressure

Evaluating effect of compassion fatigue on blood pressure among psychiatric technicians working at Patton State Hospital
AACN Essentials 1-IV
A study presented by
Name
Brandman University
Irvine, California
April 4, 2017
Introduction
The CSP topic is, “Evaluating effect of compassion fatigue on blood pressure among psychiatric technicians working at Patton State Hospital.” Health practitioners and mental health workers experience compassionate fatigue because of the nature of their work where they care for others and encounter patients/clients who suffer because of traumatic experiences (Harris & Griffin, 2015). This is particularly for those caring for the mentally ill patients, that the practitioners are left feeling overwhelmed by their experiences and sometimes they do not use self-care to reduce the risk of compassionate fatigue. Emotional distress is likely to increase blood pressure worsening their health and ability to provide optimal and safe health care. This is an analysis of the first four AACN essentials and their application to the project.
Essential I: Scientific underpinnings for practice
The DNP project sought to determine whether there is a relationship between compassion fatigue and blood pressure among Psychiatric Technicians, and there is transformation of knowledge when using an evidence base to determine how the two variables are linked. The EBP findings are compared to determine factors that increased the risk of compassion fatigue and affected the health outcomes of clients and mental health practitioners. Compassion fatigue is barrier a to practice, but few studies have looked into its effect on psychiatric technicians (Sorenson, Bolick, Wright & Hamilton, 2016). As such, the project is unique in focusing on health and psychology to address how the two fields explain the health and well being of patients.
Blood pressure is an indicator of physical health and wellbeing and even when providing care to mental health patients’ physical assessment is considered as this influences the ability to provide adequate care (De Gaudemaris et al., 2011). The psychiatric technicians ought to understand the factors that affect measurement of blood pressure and the DNP considered this. The evidence highlights that it is more beneficial to address concerns of the psychiatric technicians developing high blood pressure associated with compassion fatigue. Additionally, the health personnel who experience compassion fatigue / secondary traumatic stress are more likely to be distressed (Harris & Griffin, 2015).
The science underpinning practice is based on evidence from past research and is analyzed to determine the usefulness of the information in the DNP (Fitzpatrick & Kazer, 2009). The project further integrates nursing and psychosocial concepts, and this is consistent with the need to integrate knowledge from diverse is to improve nursing practice. In future I will consider knowledge that informs nursing practice to improve the quality of care. The clinical courses establish the foundation on how to integrate nursing science and other fields to further improve the ability to use evidence base to make informed decisions.
Consistent with the course objectives...