Objective/Purpose: The first purpose of this research project was to investigate the effectiveness of a compassion fatigue prevention program in an undergraduate nursing curriculum. The second purpose of this project was to explore compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress in nursing students. The third purpose of this project was to compare the subjects’ compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout (BO), and secondary traumatic stress (STS) scores on the ProQOL-V to their (1) year in school, (2) experience working in health care, (3) practice of self-care, and (4) perceived risk for experiencing compassion fatigue. Figley’s Compassion Stress and Fatigue Model (1995) guided this study.
Method/Materials: In this initial study, we present a pilot evidence-based educational initiative titled “the compassion fatigue prevention program (CFPP).” The CFPP consists of lecture, discussion, and completion of a self-report survey, and was developed to inform undergraduate nursing students on how to recognize, prevent, and identify methods of coping with compassion fatigue. This study used a quantitative quasi-experimental design. The sample consisted of 95 undergraduate nursing students at a southeastern university. The survey consisted of a demographic questionnaire, the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-V), and seven Likert-style questions.
Data Analysis: Data were downloaded from the online survey platform and then uploaded and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) for Windows, version 23. Nine t tests were performed to assess the mean differences of the sub-factors (CS, BO, STS) along the groupings of experience working in health care, the practice of self-care, and perceived risk for experiencing compassion fatigue. Three one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to assess the mean differences of the sub-factors (CS, BO, STS) along the groupings of year in school. The α level was set at ≤ 0.05 for statistical significance in all tests.
Results: 98% of the students reported that the program made them more prepared to reduce their risk of experiencing compassion fatigue, and more prepared to recognize the signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue. 97% of the students reported that the program made them more aware of the importance of self-care, and more prepared to seek help for compassion fatigue if they experience it in their future nursing careers. The subjects’ mean compassion satisfaction (CS) t score was 59.8, which is a high level of CS. The subjects’ mean burnout (BO) t score was 50.3, which is an average level of BO. The subjects’ mean secondary traumatic stress (STS) t score was 67.5, which is a high level of STS. Independent t-tests revealed no significant differences in compassion satisfaction (CS) (p=0.565), burnout (BO) (p=0.640), and secondary traumatic stress (STS) (p=0.212) when compared to experience working in health care. The one-way ANOVAs indicate there were no statistically significant mean group difference between years in school when evaluating compassion satisfaction (CS) (p=0.873), burnout (BO) (p=0.898), and secondary traumatic stress (STS) (p=0.705). Independent t-tests revealed significant differences in burnout (BO) (p=0.001) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) (p<0.001) when compared to perceived risk for experiencing compassion fatigue. Independent t-tests revealed significant differences in burnout (BO) (p=0.002) and moderately significant differences in compassion satisfaction (CS) (p=0.055) when compared to the practice of self-care.
Discussion: Results indicate that compassion fatigue education positively impacts how prepared undergraduate nursing students feel to prevent and combat compassion fatigue throughout their nursing careers. On average, the subjects reported high levels of compassion satisfaction (CS), average levels of burnout (BO), and high levels of secondary traumatic stress (STS). Subjects who identified themselves as being at high risk for experiencing compassion fatigue had statistically significantly higher burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) scores on the ProQOL-V. Subjects who identified themselves as practicing self-care had statistically significantly lower burnout (BO) scores and moderately statistically significantly higher compassion satisfaction (CS) scores on the ProQOL-V.
Conclusion/Significance: These results reinforce the current literature on the importance of self-care in enhancing compassion fatigue resiliency, and provide new insight into the levels of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction in nursing students. This study contributes to the nursing literature on compassion fatigue with the addition and emphasis on prevention, and to nursing education with considerations on compassion fatigue resiliency education in nursing school curricula. No studies to date have investigated the impact of introducing compassion fatigue education into undergraduate nursing curricula. Considering the results of this pilot study, we recommend that the long-term benefits of introducing of compassion fatigue resiliency techniques into the education of nursing professionals should be research in the future. The continuance of this research is valuable not only in the prevention of compassion fatigue in our future nursing professionals, but also in the enhancement of patient outcomes and care.
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