Abstract
Compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction are two inter-related concepts. Individuals in helping professions may occasionally face compassion fatigue from giving so much of themselves to others. Compassion fatigue has been studied in a variety of settings: medical, social work, nursing, law enforcement, and fire departments, to name a few. While some researchers have studied nurses, little published work has focused exclusively on nurses who care for specialty pediatric populations. Additionally, there is scant research on whether compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue are associated with patient satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among pediatric nurses and whether there was an association with patient satisfaction. This descriptive study was conducted in a large academic medical center in the Southwestern United States. A convenience sample of 231 nurses working with children in inpatient or outpatient settings completed an online demographic questionnaire and the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) 5 tool, which measured compassion satisfaction and two dimensions of compassion fatigue: burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Results of this study showed that the nurses had a moderate to high level of compassion satisfaction, a low level of burnout, and a low to moderate level of secondary traumatic stress. There were no differences in the level of compassion satisfaction or burnout related to demographic characteristics, clinical unit type, or years of experience of nurses. There were no differences in the levels of compassion satisfaction or compassion fatigue based on the levels of patient satisfaction according to unit type.
Sigma Membership
Gamma Sigma
Type
Dissertation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Descriptive/Correlational
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Compassion Satisfaction, Compassion Fatigue, Patient Satisfaction, Nurse Sensitive Indicators, Pediatric Nurses
Advisor
Mark Parshall
Second Advisor
Marie Lobo
Third Advisor
Sara Frasch
Fourth Advisor
Ryan Jacobson
Degree
PhD
Degree Grantor
The University of New Mexico
Degree Year
2017
Recommended Citation
Thornton, Maribeth, "Compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among pediatric nurses and the impact on patient satisfaction" (2022). Dissertations. 1569.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/dissertations/1569
Rights Holder
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Review Type
None: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2022-06-15
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
Description
This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 10270051; ProQuest document ID: 1948797165. The author still retains copyright.