The hospital that I was working at did not have a specific policy about compassion fatigue. However, there are a number of professional documents and organizational policies that inform the discussion of compassion fatigue including the CNA code of ethics and the employment standards act. In the next few paragraphs I will discuss how each one informs the discourse of compassion fatigue. The Canadian Nurse’ Association (CNA) code of ethics for registered nurses (2008) states that nurses, “provide safe, compassionate, competent, and ethical care” (CNA, 2008, pg. 8). It goes on to state that “ethical nursing involves promoting the value of client well-being. Promoting client well-being means facilitating the client’s health and welfare, and …show more content…
It is written into our ethical guidelines, it is featured in our entry to practice standards and it is perpetuated through imagery of the caring nurse (Appendix 1). And there is no denying compassionate care is good for patient outcomes (CNA, 2010). Yet, the continual depiction of nurse as synonymous with compassion and selflessness, can make it difficult for nurses to come forward or take time off when they are experiencing compassion fatigue. In a CNA (2010) study, nurses expressed ethical distress at coming forward about experiencing compassion fatigue because it conflicted with their ideas of ideal nursing practice (CNA, 2010). Moreover, nurses felt a professional obligation to provide care for those in need despite feeling apathetic or have limited empathy (CNA, …show more content…
Currently, ONA and RNAO are actively lobbying the government for increased nursing staff and increased hospital funding. Therefore, I think that a partnership with these larger organizations will align well with the issue compassion fatigue. Our partnership with these organizations will consist of writing policy papers, attending chapter meetings to raise awareness about the issue, and potentially, creating a campaign around the
Lombardo, B., & Eyre, C. (2011). Compassion fatigue: A nurse's primer. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 16(1), 1. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2011048800&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Todays healthcare environment is demanding for nurses at a time when there is a critical shortage of staff to meet the multifaceted needs of patients. Ethical issues can occur in any healthcare situation where profound moral questions of the patient’s rights exist. Nurses everywhere have long struggled with ethical challenges in patient care, but it has become difficult for nurses in all parts of the world to practices with integrity amidst moral choices and pressures that nurses confront. According to one article in the demographics are reported no or low stress which is associated with the staffing pattern that creates the most ethical stress. About 80% felt confident that they could justify their ethical decision and nearly two third felt prepared to deal with ethical issues. About 44% nurses are frustrated and about 57.5% are overwhelmed. Nurses are constantly facing these ethical issues every day of the year. One of the reasons why it’s happens is do to facilities shortage of staffing. Those facilities that have insufficient staff it is hard to meet the ethical standard of professional practice.(Ulrich2513)
The Code of Ethics for Nurses was created to be a guide for nurses to perform their duties in a way that is abiding with the ethical responsibilities of the nursing profession and quality in nursing care. The Code of Ethics has excellent guidelines for how nurses should behave, however; these parameters are not specific. They do not identify what is right and wrong, leaving nurses having to ultimately make that decision. Ethics in nursing involves individual interpretation based on personal morals and values. Nursing professionals have the ethical accountability to be altruistic, meaning a nurse who cares for patients without self-interest. This results in a nurse functioning as a patient advocate, making decisions that are in the best interest of the patient and practicing sound nursing ethics.
According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), (2010) “the nurse promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the health, safety and rights of the patient” (p. 6). Nursing responsibilities should be acted upon at the highest standard and must be based on legal and ethical obligations. Healthcare provider’s perception and judgment of the patient’s well being, as well as taking into account the rights of the patient in every action, is one of the key elements in nursing practice. International Council of Nurses (ICN) (2006) states “The nurse at all times maintains standards of personal conduct which reflect well on the profession and enhance public confidence” (p. 3).
In the book of Ethics of health care, the Code of Ethics for nurses states that the nurse altogether practices skilled relationships with their patients, practices compassionately and has respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and singularity of each individual. Which is unrestricted by concerns of social or economic standing, personal attributes, or the character of health issues (p.374). The nurse's primary commitment must always be to the patient, respecting the patient's choices and conjointly protecting their health and safety in the slightest degree times, despite what another individual, friend, relative or community has to say. However the same way nurses have commitments with their patients, they have the same commitment with themselves.
Florence Nightingale once said, “apprehension, uncertainty, waiting, expectation, fear of surprise, do a patient more harm than any exertion.” Nurses face ethical dilemmas daily while caring for patients and patients’ families, and while working in a multidisciplinary environment. Many ethical dilemmas faced by a nurse are often difficult to resolve, which often times, leads nurses to withhold care due to the conflicting values of self, of patients’ values, and employers values and expectations of their employees. It is of the essence that nurses recognize this dilemma and resolve it without delay to prevent compromise of patient’s care and wellbeing. But this is not always an easy fix, as in the case study of nurse PT and her ethical dilemma during the H1N1 pandemic in Ontario (CNA, August 2008).
The manifestation of compassion fatigue can be dangerous to the very people the nurse works to care for so tirelessly. The outside world sees that nurses consistently put their patient's needs first. There have been many poems, blog posts, and articles written about nurses who do not eat, use the bathroom, or sleep, all to care for a stranger. This characteristic of nurses, to put others first, is what makes them so good at being caregivers. Without any thought, for themselves, nurses jump in to help in all times of need, keep calm in the face of disaster, and make sure things are taken care of in stressful times. A nurse with compassion fatigue will still put others first because that is who the nurse is at his or her most basic level, a caregiver. The reason compassion fatigue is such an important professional nursing issue is that of the side effects nurses suffer from. The symptoms of compassion fatigue cause a direct effect on the patients, co-workers, and family of a nurse suffering from compassion fatigue. Physical, and mental, exhaustion can cause devastating medication
Honouring dignity is a basic right for all individuals and it is fundamental in caring for the holistic wellbeing of patients (Mohsen & Mohammad, 2015). Nurses can preserve the dignity of patients when they establish trust, assure respect, and communicate these values to the patients. It is on this basis of ethical values of which nurses withhold that grants them the opportunity to display professionalism. Nurses strive to help enhance the holistic wellbeing of individuals and in order for such a goal to be feasible, there must be a baseline to ensure that all nurses participate in ethical nursing care. The Canadian Nurses Association set a foundation for nurses to guide the ethical performance.
To properly serve the public, health professionals are entrusted with the responsibility to comply with the standards of ethical practice and conduct. For registered nurses, the foundation of ethical practice is specified in the Canadian Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics, containing values and ethical responsibilities for nurses. In this paper, we will focus on the seventh primary value- Being Accountable- and the seventh ethical responsibility stating that a patient requesting care “that is in conflict with the nurse’s moral beliefs and values… the nurse provides safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care until alternative care arrangements are in place…” (Association, 2008). Although there are numerous nursing situations that can create
Ethics provides a framework for making the best decision in any given situation where a dilemma arises. Nursing ethics has a very unique prospective to provide to respect and we will be exploring how language and principles can be used in everyday situation with complex decision required to be made. Every day nurses face ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas allow nurses to learn more about themselves and help shape their morals and values. During my nursing journey as a health care professional, I took care of patients of different cultures and different beliefs. Some were very ill and because of my good care, they were able to recover faster than anticipated. On the other hand, there were other patients I took care of with hardships. All these
Empathy is crucial for meaningful relationships with patients1. Healthcare providers know that “bearing with the suffering of others” is an essential part of patient care2,3. Ironically, while empathic ability allows healthcare providers to notice the pain of their patients, this ability is also linked to the susceptibility to distress or compassion fatigue6,7. Compassion fatigue has been defined as ‘‘the formal caregiver’s reduced capacity or interest in being empathic and is ‘the natural consequent behaviors and emotions resulting from knowing about a traumatizing event experienced or suffered by a person’’7. Compassion fatigue can be seen as a form of burnout, as a secondary traumatic stress, associated with the ‘‘cost of caring’’2.
Not only is it important to know our own personal values set when it comes to providing nursing care, it is also a valuable skill as a preceptor or trainer of nurses to notice and assess, as well as potentially report, issues of ethical concern. There are standards of care as well as ethical components established by the American Nurses Association (ANA) that assist nurses in this process. Models of care and nursing theories utilized in our individual health systems can also point us in the right direction with regards to proper care of patients with truth telling and promise keeping. Communication is a key factor in not only the nurse patient relationship, but also the relationship we have with our fellow nurses and the institution in which we practice. After all, it is nurses who are responsible for maintaining the integrity of our profession.
Ethics is an essential part of the nursing profession; However, it is the nature of each situation that determines which ethically moral judgements should be made. This essay will give further detail into the fine line that nurses and most healthcare professionals face in the workplace, it will address the nursing code of ethics and its impact on critical decision making. When faced with the challenges of making the right decisions, and determining if they are ethically professional or not, there is a thin line between right and wrong in nursing, and more often times than most can admit, that line can become blurred in order to save a patient’s life, or merely in order to protect our own. The work life of a nurse is characterized by not only
Integrity, respect for persons, justice, non-maleficence, and responsibility are all identified within the code, however compassion is not directly stated but is implied. To show compassion for others during suffering is an almost automatic response in nursing. When nurses decide to act either beneficently or non-maleficently they are doing a service to those being cared for. When dealing with human lives moral value becomes especially important, and is not situationally dependent. Ethical neutrality does not have a place in professional ethics, and an obligation to respect the moral values is necessary. The code deals with specific issues related to the nursing profession, and ensures standards are upheld. Creation of code of ethics within a profession limits misconduct, create safeguards, promote trust for the profession within society, and preserves the integrity of the profession (Soskolne, 1984) It is important for me to emphasize the difference between the nurse’s code of ethics and the Hippocratic Oath. The nurses ethical code is tailored toward the care provided to the patient, and not the involved science and diagnostic aspect of the
Nursing is based on the ethical value of a commitment to promoting well-being by providing competent and compassionate care. Guidelines and codes are beneficial because they state values, obligations and limitations. These guidelines are designed to help nurse's think and resolve ethical and professional questions and issues. The nurse is faced with many legal and ethical dilemmas. One of the ...