The Concept Of Compassion By Using Walker And Avant's ( 2011 ) Eight Step Guideline For Concept Analysis

Barbara Lazear Ascher writes a well formed essay on the concept of compassion. Compassion is something that we do for others out of the kindness of our hearts. She focuses more on the poor, just how we show them sympathy, why do we do such things. Is showing empathy from our hearts or just for them to go away. I enjoyed this essay due to the fact, that she gives humanistic reasons on why people are compassionate, she doesn’t sugar coat anything, and lastly she breaks down the compassion that she sees everyday.

Are people born with a complete quandary when it comes to compassion or is it something that has always been there? Barbara Lazear Ascher, born in 1946, writes, “On Compassion.” Having lived in New York City, Ascher is able to take first hand examples from the city to show the affection people have towards each other. Ascher is able to illustrate that compassion is something that has to be taught because of the adversity at people’s heels by including tone, persuasive appeals, and the mode of comparing and contrast in her essay, “On Compassion.”

Empathy is an innate trait that all humans have and it is the one that we most readily feel, while compassion is a feeling that must be acquired. Ascher astutely points out that “empathy is the mother of compassion” (par.13). In this noteworthy parallel, Ascher compares empathy to a nurturing mother and compassion to the fruit of her labor. Like a mother who has an inherent instinct to protect and teach her young, so too does one have an innate understanding and sensitivity to the feelings and experiences of another, and it is only from these life experiences that the birth of a new awareness is brought forth in the form of compassion. Similar to a mother’s tutelage, Ascher describes compassion as a “learned” behavior that allows one to consciously act upon the distress of others by actively alleviating it. According to Ascher, “Compassion is not a character trait like a sunny disposition. It must be learned, and it is learned by having adversity at our window…” (par.13). In other words, true compassion can only be learned when one is faced with it every day of ones life and that once it becomes “familiar”, only then it can become identifiable and conjure empathy.

Compassion is one of the fundamental characteristics implemented into patient care by health care providers. Compassion signifies “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering” (Compassion, n.d.). Nurses and other health care providers provide selfless service, tireless dedication, compassion, and often neglect their personal needs, which

The purpose of this essay is to look at barriers of compassion and what nurses could do overcome these barriers. Three sub topics will be looked at over the course of this essay and a conclusion will be made to evaluate these essays findings and to provide some input into battling these barriers so that patients can receive high standards of patient care.

Within literature, Compassion has been described in many ways though very few descriptions have agreed on how it is best identified (Volpintesta 2011). Crowther et al (2013) describe compassion as a deep emotion that is felt by the individual practitioner allowing them to understand what the patient may be experiencing. Nussbaum (2003) argues that compassion goes beyond just understanding and identifying that emotion, it requires the practitioner to produce a response to the feeling or emotion in order to improve the situation. Dewar (2011) points out that compassion is not only about the recognition of the patients suffering but includes small

Compassion and respect are essential attitudes for nursing practice. Compassion has been described as the “wounding of the heart” or a

The incidence of compassion fatigue is increasing due to the heavy responsibilities placed on nurses and other providers, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Compassion can be a limited resource, our system is rooted in cognitive networks that tire and need refueling (Carey, 2011). Healthcare workers spend more time charting than

This paper will provide information on how compassion fatigue has been underplayed in pass years and current clinical

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

Although nursing is a varied profession, compassion fatigue is experienced across all specialties and is a relatively new acknowledgement of symptoms. “Compassion fatigue is the term used to describe a combination of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Burnout is composed of three constructs: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and diminishing ones accomplishments” Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, (2001). On the contrary and not thoroughly studied is compassion satisfaction. “While CF describes some of the occupational hazards of nursing, compassion satisfaction (CS) encompasses the pleasure of gratitude that develops from caregiving for patients” (Simon, Pryce, Roff & Klemmack 2005). This term of compassion satisfaction is interchangeable

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

As an RN, three things that I hold dearly, which motivate my efforts, are compassion, integrity, and objectivity. These traits are the essential features that make the foundation for my views and way of practice. Compassion is the key element that has facilitated my ability to perceive and appreciate the uniqueness of individual patients and their needs. Additionally, this inherent quality has allowed me to be sensitive and understand the different behaviors of patients. Over the course of my medical profession, I have experienced that without compassion, one cannot have the enthusiasm or determination that is needed to help others, learn new things, or for that matter, make a difference for a better tomorrow. Synonymous with compassion

The Charter for Compassion describes compassion as the act of treating others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Their act of compassion does not compromise of lying dormant and recognizing that someone with a differing view than you is just as equal.

Since the 19th century, compassion has been emphasized as a focal point within the field of nursing, likely due to the strong religious influence of many early nursing schools. During pioneer Florence Nightingale’s time, compassion was viewed as the very “essence of nursing” and was strongly emphasized within curriculums for most of the 20th century. More recently, researchers have recognized that the concept of compassion has begun fading from the field of nursing due to numerous factors, among them the more recent emphasis on “professionalization, medicalization, consumerization, and secularization” of nursing and health care in general. Compassion has also begun to diminish due to the emotionally