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Essay on Theoretical Framework: Compassion Fatigue

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2148-EXPLOR-SCI--THEORIES-NURSING-83294-400 - 2148-NURS-5327-400-EXPLOR-SCI--THEORIES-NURSING--2014-Fall Theoretical Framework Paper Word Count: 2,335 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: Framework of Compassion Fatigue University of Texas at Arlington Exploration of Science and Theories for Nursing N5327 Rhonda Mintz-Binder, DNP RN CNE September 11, 2014 Compassion fatigue, which is also known, as secondary traumatic stress is a natural effect that occurs as a result of taking care of patients who are in pain, stressed, suffering, or traumatized. Compassion fatigue commonly affects nurses who show extreme empathy for patients and their relatives. Empathy is the act of putting oneself in another person’s situation …show more content…

Therefore, nurses should always seek intervention from mentors or professional counselors to prevent the development of compassion fatigue or secondary traumatic stress. Nurses also face many issues and challenges in the hospital setting. Nurses interact with multiple patients with different demands. Therefore, nurses should receive adequate support from superiors, family members, and colleagues to help keep their spirits up and to professionally complete their daily duties. Watson’s (2010) theory of human caring advocates relationship-based nursing. This relationship enables the nurse to empathize with the patient and the patient’s relatives. The nurse understands the patient and helps the patient and the relatives to deal with the current medical condition. Empathizing with the patient is one way of showing concern and improves the quality of care rendered by the nurse. According to Watson, for a nurse to empathize with the patient, there should be a good relationship between the nurse and the patient. According to Adams et al. (2006), compassion fatigue is connected with the patient’s therapeutic relationship with the health provider. As a healthcare provider empathizes with the patient, and enters into a therapeutic relationship, development of secondary traumatic stress tends to occur (Jenkins & Baird, 2002). The researchers also claim that there are other

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