Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Nursing
Advisor
Carolyn Sipes
Abstract
Nursing shortages caused by burnout (BO) and compassion fatigue (CF) are a concern for nursing leaders in the United States. Researchers have discussed the mediating effect compassion satisfaction (CS) has on BO and CF in current studies; however, no qualitative studies have analyzed the experiences of nurses with CS. A combination of the compassion fatigue resilience model and Roy’s adaptation model were used to guide this study that examined critical care nurses’ lived experiences with CS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Convenience sampling was used to recruit the critical care nurses who participated in semistructured interviews. Data saturation was met after five interviews. The resulting data were analyzed using interpretive profiles and manual coding to generate categories and themes. The emergent themes were recognition, helping, and support, indicating that the positive feelings of receiving recognition, providing care, and receiving support from colleagues promoted CS. Recommendations for future research include a mixed methods study that examines quantitative levels of CS prior to semistructured interviews that could be conducted to confirm and expand upon the findings of this study. The potential for positive social change from this study lies in the ability to both maintain and increase the CS of nurses within critical care. Increasing CS may act to mitigate the effects of CF, resulting in less critical care nurse BO and turnover.
Recommended Citation
Bailey, Michael W., "Critical Care Nurses’ Experiences of Compassion Satisfaction During a Pandemic" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 13184.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13184
