Introduction
This essay will define the ways in which a nurse delivers compassionate care followed by facilitators to that compassionate care. Personality, attitudes, values, and the importance of a holistic view along with the experience of the nurse as a patient and the positive role models of compassion will also be discussed. The challenges and barriers to compassionate care will then be examined including time, understaffing, and lack of resources. Furthermore, compassion fatigue will also be looked at.
Compassionate care is one of the core values of the nursing profession since its founding by Florence Nightingale (Middleton, J. August 2011). Compassionate care is said to fulfill the patient’s need for connection and building a relationship with the nurse. It is equally important for the nurse to feel that connection and have a good relationship with her patient.
Compassion in nursing is associated with offering caring actions. A nurse needs to be empathetic towards the patient to understand best the experiences the patient may be going through. It is paramount for a registered nurse to understand the pain the patient is going through to be able to help. As stated by Nouwen et al (1982:4) “compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion and anguish”. Furthermore, a nurse should build trust with the patient to effectively fulfill the role of trust in their lives. Luhmann (1979) and Pask (1995) both agree that trust is essential to living in a complex world. If you build trust with the patient they are much more likely to confide in you and be honest about their ailments. Building that bond helps both the nurse and the patient.
A nurse should also be an active listener as it is highly important and the key to effective communication. Karen Sherman believes there is one fundamental thing that should be done to ensure the nurse employs active listening and this is to “comprehend the message and evaluate its meaning. in doing this the nurse will better understand what it is that the patient needs, and in turn, will be able to provide that for said patient. It is also essential that the nurse communicates using body language and listens to and observes the patient’s body language. This can be done by communicating with touch, hand gestures, and eye contact. A nurse should always strive to be kind and cooperative toward their patient
A nurse should establish a personal relationship with their patient and work on getting to know them better. This is to ensure the nurse will understand their patient’s needs and make them feel comfortable. To become more familiar with their patient, the nurse should learn about their interests, families, hobbies, and others. In doing this the patient will feel more comfortable as they will be able to engage the nurse in conversation. In addition to this, nurses should offer follow-up services to patients regarding their complaints and health issues to help create a bond between the nurse and the patient. This signifies to the patient that the nurse is genuinely concerned about them and their issues and is actively trying to help them.
Facilitators of compassionate care
The nurse’s personality is vital in ensuring they deliver adequate compassionate care. It is essential to show kindness and have a keen interest in their patient. They must be empathetic towards their patient and show emotions when their patient is doing well and not so well. It’s important that the nurse has a good attitude whilst carrying out their work and bring on board their morals and values. These aspects are paramount in the deliverance of the compassionate care the patient requires.
Having a holistic view of things is a must, and is a very important facilitator in compassionate care. It is about giving attention to the patient but considering their family’s needs also.
Solving problems in and out of the hospital and checking in with their patients when they are free is key to maintaining a good nurse-patient relationship. It also puts the patient and their families at ease to know that things are being dealt with and it keeps the communication lines open.
It is helpful for a nurse to utilize their scientific knowledge as well as their clinical skills when discussing the patient’s issues as the patient will be put at ease to know that the nurse understands what is also going on not only emotionally but physically also. The two are very much linked.
Bedside manner is also very important in compassionate care, it is vital for the nurse to be friendly with the patient. Smile, talk, and put the patient at ease. A nurse should use body language skills that are warm and inviting so the patient feels at ease and reassured.
The nurse’s experience as a patient
Some nurses extend compassionate care to their patients based on their experience as a patient at a particular time in their lives. Experiencing suffering in the past as a patient motivates the nurse to deliver compassionate care and put themselves in the patient’s shoes as being in a hospital can be overwhelming and frightening for a person. It is important a nurse puts a patient at ease and delivers reassurance.
Availability of positive role models
In 1886 Florence Nightingale said, “We do not teach what we preach, but what we are” (McDonald, 2009, p.862). It is important to have good role models and to be a good role model. Nurses tend to learn a lot from their peers and imitate and mimic their actions. They motivate and inspire the nurse with encouragement and kind words, and help in their journey of becoming the best nurse they can possibly be.
Challenges and Barriers to compassionate care
A lack of time for the patient is one of the main barriers nurses face in delivering compassionate care. They are overloaded with paperwork and other duties which hinder the time spent with patients.
There is also the issue of understaffing which makes it difficult for the nurse on duty to focus on their patients, as they have the workload of missing staff members
Some hospitals lack resources which makes it difficult to provide the care the patient may require.
Compassion fatigue
Many nurses suffer from compassion fatigue. This may be experienced due to a mix of traumatic events including the deterioration of a patient, getting very close to a patient only in turn to lose that patient and not getting along with their peers also.
The nurse can end up turning off their feelings due to issues with resentment and anger. Compassion fatigue can also lead to burnout from perhaps a heavy workload and not feeling they are getting the support they need from colleagues or management.
There are some coping strategies when dealing with compassion fatigue, which include becoming familiar with the triggers and gaining an understanding of why this might be happening. This can aid in not letting it affect the nurse’s personal life which in turn could lead to the nurse choosing not to resign.
Problem-solving can play a massive role in overcoming compassion fatigue. Asking for help when it’s needed and confiding in work colleagues and availing of the supports that may be in place in their area of work can all reduce the risk of experiencing compassion fatigue.
Working with children with severe illnesses and palliative care nurses are a very high-risk group when it comes to compassion fatigue. In a recent study78% of hospice nurses were found to be at a moderate to high risk of compassion fatigue (Aberndroth & Flannery, 2006).
Getting too close to a patient can also cause compassion fatigue as the patient may pass away or be rapidly deteriorating, which can cause the nurse a lot of upset in turn leading to compassion fatigue.
Some other coping strategies that the nurse may use are perhaps going for a walk on lunch break, eating a healthy balanced diet, and drinking water throughout their shift.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this essay has outlined how a nurse may best deliver compassionate care. It has defined what compassionate care is. Some facilitators of that care were examined. The experience of the nurse as a patient and the nurse putting themselves in the patient’s shoes were highlighted. The positive role models of compassionate care were also discussed. Challenges and barriers were touched on including time, understaffing, and lack of resources. To conclude compassion fatigue was outlined including how it may impact how a nurse delivers compassionate care.
References
- ‘Be an active listener!’ (2016) Nurse Aide-VIP, 28(11), p. 15. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com.libgate.library.nuigalway.ie/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=ccm&AN=121418260&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 10 November 2020).
- Christiansen, Angela & O’Brien, Mary & Kirton, Jennifer & Zubairu, Kate & Bray, Lucy. (2015). Delivering compassionate care: The enablers and barriers. British Journal of Nursing (Mark Allen Publishing). 24. 833-7. 10.12968/bjon.2015.24.16.833.
- Johnson, J., 2015. Nursing Professional Development Specialists as Role Models. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 31(5).
- Van Lieshout, F., Titchen, A., McCormack, B. and McCance, T., 2015. Compassion in facilitating the development of person-centered health care practice. Journal of Compassionate Health Care, 2(1).
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