Exposing Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Syndrome in a Trauma Team (NUR504)

Article Summary
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Article Summary
Exposing Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Syndrome in a Trauma Team: A Qualitative Study
Published in the Journal of Trauma Nursing the article, Exposing Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Syndrome in A Trauma Team: A Qualitative Study, by Gina, Lenni, Carolyn and Diana, analyses both Compassion fatigue and burnout syndrome in nurses that are in trauma, emergency and critical care nurses (Berg, Harshbarger, Ahlers-Schmidt, & Lippoldt, 2016). The study is focused on establishing the triggers and the coping mechanisms that the nurses use in trying to reduce the impacts of fatigue and burnouts which impacts that ability to perform. The study was conducted on 12 practitioners, who shared their perceptions, related to the triggers and their coping mechanisms (Berg, Harshbarger, Ahlers-Schmidt, & Lippoldt, 2016).
Problem statement
Nurses and other practitioners working within the trauma section, emergency and the critical care practices often develop compassion fatigue and burnout syndrome (Delgado, 2016). This affects their personal and professional life with sever impacts and consequences. This means that the medical practitioners are likely to impair quality care and thus impact the patients negatively (Berg, Harshbarger, Ahlers-Schmidt, & Lippoldt, 2016). This further means that the practitioners are likely to put the lives of the patients in danger, as they do not work optimally, whether at the decision making level or at the point of care. As such, this prompts the need to review the issue with reference to how it occurs in the designated nurses, the impacts and the coping mechanisms (Delgado, 2016).
Statement of purpose
The study was poised to establish how compassion fatigue and burnout syndrome affects the nurses, relative to the services delivery (Berg, Harshbarger, Ahlers-Schmidt, & Lippoldt, 2016). Due in part to the fact that, the two conditions affect the ability of the nurses to make decisions, this impacts their ability to offer quality care which in turn affects the patient satisfaction and health care outcomes (Delgado, 2016). Most importantly, this is an aspect that also affects the health care of the patient and further puts the lives of the patients in danger. It is thus important to understand how it affects the nurses and what the possible coping mechanisms are (Berg, Harshbarger, Ahlers-Schmidt, & Lippoldt, 2016).
Research questions
What are the compassion satisfaction and the ability for the same to contribute to the society and work?
What are the compassion fatigue traumatic events that are upsetting enough to impact self and/or the team and even trigger reactions?
What are the various experiences that act as event triggers?
What are the various elements of self-care with reference to coping mechanisms, education on trauma and the institutional resources?
Method
The study used the focus group methodology, where the participants were above the age of 18 years and members of the trauma team at the Midwestern Level 1 Trauma center (Berg, Harshbarger, Ahlers-Schmidt, & Lippoldt, 2016). All the participants were invited to take part in the study, on a voluntary basis and with informed co...