On The 4 December 2012 A Strategy And Vision Was Created

others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.” My precept is that it lies at the heart of all

This reflective assignment will focus on one of the 6C’s related to nursing practice, personal experiences and how I have improved in confidence and gained further development in the different fields of nursing as my role of a student nurse. Jane Cummings introduced the 6C’s values as care, courage, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment. These are an implementation of the vision and strategy for Nurses, Midwives and Care staff, set out in the national nursing strategy (Department of Health 2012). The 6C’s came into practice in 2012 as part of England’s national nursing strategy, however there have been mixed responses, as to whether the 6C’s have actually focused on nursing care or an individual’s nurses ability to provide good quality patient care (Merrifield, 2015).

Compassion is another valuable attribute of caring. Compassion is the sense of concern for others and their less than desirable situations. According to Perry (2009), compassion is the attention to minute details, generally exhibited in a face-to-face interaction with a patient/client (p. 18) and should be implemented when providing patient care and interventions. Attentiveness goes a long ways to enhance the well-being and quality of care provided to a patient/client. This in turn, establishes trust amongst a nurse/caregiver and a patient/client.

Communication is usually taken for granted in our every day to day living as we use it without thought. Good communication skills are needed in the workplace and especially with nursing staff to and from patients when giving first hand care. Good or bad communication can make there experience within the health care setting a positive or negative one and can leave a lasting impression. A good health care provider can use there communication skills to put a patient at ease with a few comforting words or gestures, a lack of positive communication in the health care setting could leave the patient feeling neglected, ignored and not valued as a patient.

The results were clearly related to the introduction and the authors found support for their hypothesis that compassion training would benefit health care workers. However, the study did have numerous shortcomings. The study sample was extremely small, and the participants worked in the same location and area of the hospital. This raises the question of if the results would be the same with a larger sample or in a different area of the country. An additional option for further research is to examine if the training would receive similar results in another area of the hospital, for example with employees in NICU. The study was also performed in a relatively short timeline with the follow-up being completed 9 months after training. How long will the impacts continue, and what on-going methods are necessary to continue battling compassion fatigue? Although the authors acknowledge that further exploration is necessary, they do not address any of these questions. In spite of these shortcomings, it was overall a strong paper and after further research the training referenced may be utilized to assist caregivers with compassion

Communication involves information being sent, received and decoded between two or more people (Balzer-Riley 2008) and involves the use of a number of communication skills; which in a nursing context generally focuses on listening and giving information to patients (Weller 2002). This process of sending and receiving messages has been described as both simple and complex (Rosengren 2000 in McCabe 2006, p.4). It is a process which is continually utilised by nurses to convey and receive information from the patient, co-workers, others they come into contact with and the patient’s family.

Compassion is a crucial aspect of nursing; it involves seeing the patients as more than just a medical problem. Patients look to nurses as a source of comfort to help them deal with their emotions and understand their medical problems. In Norway, a study was conducted to find the role of compassion in nursing and

Compassion is identified by the National Health Service (NHS) (2016) as one of the 6Cs that form the basic values that are fundamental to providing effective nursing care. Defined by the NHS as ‘intelligent kindness’, compassion is considered a complex combination of emotions. Chochinov (2007) describes compassion as ‘a deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it’. Similarly, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2009, p. 9) defines compassion as an extension of empathy and the ‘want to help and do something to make the situation better’. These theories suggest compassion is not simply a sympathising emotion, but a motivation to improve another’s wellbeing.

Brykczynska G and Jolley M (1997) Caring: The Compassion and Wisdom of Nursing. London: Arnold.

The aims and objectives were clearly laid out, both in the abstract and within the article itself without being too extensive, using clear and easily understood language to outline the research goals as well as setting out why the study was needed. This was placed within the background section of the article. Also the article was granted publication by the Journal of Clinical Nursing (JCN) in November 2013. The publication coincided with the release of the Francis Inquiry report in February of the same year. This demonstrates the relevance of the research done and the subsequent publication at the time. The use of this report to ‘inform the design of a compassion related toolkit’ was stated within the article introduction. The Author’s credentials were also present within the first page of the article, as was a clearly laid out abstract adding to the validity of the article; as Metcalfe (2003) states ‘it is necessary to establish whether or not the authors are to be treated as experts and to determine their area of expertise. If their expertise is not established, their opinion may not be convincing’.

The NHS have 6 core nursing values, launched by England’s chief nursing officer, Jane Cummings, after the Mid-Staffordshire disaster. These 6C’s were put into place to reinforce holistic nursing (Delves-Yates, C. 2015), ensure that everybody within the National Health Service is doing everything possible to ensure the best possible service for the patients, and to ensure that patients were put at the heart of everything healthcare professionals do (Watterson, L. 2013). The 6 C’s include care, compassion, competence, commitment, courage and communication. All six of the 6C’S are all fundamental values when it comes to healthcare, however out of these six, the three that I have chosen to write about are communication, compassion and courage. I have chosen these three as I believe that they are the most imperative when it comes to delivering high-quality care for the patients or service users.

Compassion represents an “acknowledgement of another’s suffering and is accompanied by the expression of a desire to ease or end that suffering.” (Van der Cingal, 2009, p. 124) This is a fundamental characteristic usually found in health care workers and nurses especially. In one twelve hour shift, a nurse’s job can change from taking vitals and administering medications to performing life saving measures

To observe the trust values as a trainee assistant practitioner the six fundamental values I need to maintain in mind are Care, Compassion, Communication, Competence, Commitment, and Courage. NHS Commissioning Board (2012), the 6Cs were developed in 2012 as part of compassion in practice. The 6Cs encapsulate the values and behaviors of the essence to the legal transfer of high quality, compassionate care Beal, J (2014). Care is core business and that of our organisations and the care we deliver helps the individual person and improves the health of the whole community. WUTH (2012) Caring defines us and our work. A person receiving care expects it to be right for them, consistently, throughout every stage of their life Beal, J (2014). Compassion is how care is given through relationships based on empathy, respect and dignity. I believe that nursing is an occupation consisting of professional individuals that exhibit and express

Compassionate care is a big talking point right now in the media and within the healthcare sector with the Francis report being published earlier this year regarding the failings by Mid Staffordshire and Scotland are now waiting for their own report to be issued regarding the failings at the Vale of Leven in Dumbarton. The nursing and midwifery council have already started on some the imperative changes to be made that the Francis report issued. The chief executive of the nursing and midwifery council has said in her executive statement regarding the Francis report that they are to re-examine the current teaching that nurses receive and the professional standards. Smith, J. (Nursing and Midwifery Council) all of these failings are all relate d to compassionate care. The people who died in these hospitals were clearly not heard when they complained of feeling unwell and did not receive compassionate care so why was this? Next to be discussed is compassion fatigue and how this may reflect onto nursing practice in providing sufficient compassion.

Compassion is more than just relieving a patient’s suffering but is an essence to enter a patient’s experience and therefore helps to achieve the best optimal holistic care (Von Dietze & Orb, 2000). According to Dewar (2011) in her statement during the 2010 Royal College of Nursing Conference, compassion is how we can relate to our patients, which includes acknowledging