Fatigue In Nursing

Nurses dispense comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription ~ Val Saintsbury (Nursing and Compassion, 2015, expression 2).

When one thinks of nursing, one thinks caring, empathy and compassion. They are linked together in an unbreakable union, so much so for nurses that "compassion fatigue is the cost of caring for others in pain" (Boyle, 2015, p. 49). Nurses work in a demanding, often-traumatic environment where many things are happening at the same time. Being exposed to patient's pain and suffering on a daily basis can influence a nurse's capacity to give compassionate care (Knobloch Coetzee & Klopper, 2010). Working in an emergency department, nurses continue to show compassion when their own well of compassion is

Fatigue is defined as physical and/or mental depletion that can be caused by stress, medication, overwork or mental and physical illness or disease (The Free Medical Dictionary, n.d.). Carla Joinson first linked CF with nurses in 1992, when she described a syndrome that occurs when nurses care for patients experiencing traumas or life-altering events (Joinson, 1992). It is seen most often in roles of caregivers, such as nurses, and it is associated with the caring of patients in emotional and physical pain. Compassion fatigue is used to explain a feeling of being depleted, physically, emotionally and spiritually, after an extended contact to compassion stressors (Braunschneider, 2013). It has been called the "inability to nurture" (Joinson, 1992, p. 119). In Figley's seminal work, he states, "prolonged exposure means an ongoing sense of responsibility for the care of the sufferer and the suffering, over a protracted period of time" (Figley, 1995, p. 253).

The operational definition for the concept of compassion fatigue is the feeling of tiredness, apathy, wanting to quit, callousness and indifference toward patients, and a feeling of having your own personal inner well empty. It can occur abruptly or as a consequence of prolonged exposure to traumatic stressors, intense connection with patients and constant use of self to assist

Burnout, like CF, is also a combination of emotional and physical exhaustion. It includes negative attitudes to patients and peers, and there can be some "diminished feelings of work and personal accomplishments" (Hinderer et al., 2014, p. 160). Burnout is described as a lack of motivation, tiredness, feelings of ineffectiveness and can also come across as cynicism, anger or frustration. As a result, there is a diminished productivity within the work place. Burnout has an IDC-10 number of Z73.0. It can be clinically similar to depression. There are differences between compassion fatigue and burnout. Compassion fatigue can be of sudden onset and is a natural consequence of working with people who have experienced some trauma event. Conversely, burnout is an all-encompassing concept and can be caused from a number of stressors such as work environment, low salaries, and or limited resources, just to name a few (Slatten, Carson, & Carson,