Abstract

Describe the meaning of compassion fatigue (CF) as experienced by the U.S. military registered nurse (RN) post-deployment from Iraq and Afghanistan. Background: CF is characterized by deep emotional and physical exhaustion, and may resemble posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Often this causes a shift in confidence and clouds RN perceptions. Symptoms include difficulty concentrating, intrusive imagery, hopelessness, exhaustion, and irritability leading to profound alterations in one's view of the world, patients, family, and friends. Outcomes include depersonalizing patients, poor coping mechanisms, lowered standards, clinical errors, and blurring boundaries, all can contribute to a toxic work environment and RNs leaving the profession.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 10145468; ProQuest document ID: 1811963412. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Dawn Marie Goldstein, PhD, RN

Sigma Membership

Non-member

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Phenomenology

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Emotional Exhaustion, Military Nurses, Mental Health in Nurses

Advisor

Kate G. Sheppard

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

The University of Arizona

Degree Year

2016

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2020-08-14

Full Text of Presentation

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