Compassion Fatigue - Do you have it?

My Personal Reflections:

Feeling "numb"?

Feeling "sick of working"?

I read this interesting article from ScienceDaily and I would like to share with the rest of you.

Compassion fatigue is a syndrome that all of us health practitioners must watch out for. We could be rushing through our routines and feeling somewhat "numb" or "burnt-out". These senses of "I am tired of everything" or "my patients are dying anyway" are warning signs that we should watch out for!

I strongly believe that stress management is not just for cancer patients, but also for the professionals who are caring for them. We need to take care of ourselves before we can take care of others well.

Talk to your supervisor especially when there are major events which happened e.g. death of a patient whom you have taken care of, sudden death, anger flare-ups from caregivers/patients. It is helpful to share your feelings and express how you feel.

Having been through this personally, I realised the importance of self-reflection. This allows me to identify my own emotions and to have insight about how i feel especially when I am heavily involved in a niche area of cancer counselling. Talking to someone senior and one whom I trust helps! It's extremely vital to de-stress and spend time to myself. Putting my feet up for a session of relaxing spa or massage deserves a 5 stars rating for its healing efficiency.

To me, the trick is to find joy, no matter how small or simple, amidst the challenges we face!

If you would like to share your feelings, do leave a comment too :)







Ong Shu Xin
Senior Counsellor, Registered Nurse
Certified Quit Smoking Consultant
Suicide, Grief and Bereavement Work
Oncology Nurses Chapter
Singapore Nurses Association

Assessing Nurses' Attitudes Toward Death and Caring for Dying Patients in a Comprehensive Cancer Center

Michelle Lange, BSN, RN, OCN®;
Bridgette Thom, MS;
Nancy E. Kline, PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN

Abstract

Purpose/Objectives: To assess how nurses employed in a comprehensive cancer center feel about death and caring for dying patients and examine any relationships between their attitudes and demographic factors.

Design: Descriptive quantitative.

Setting: A 432-bed comprehensive cancer center in New York, NY.

Sample: A convenience sample of 355 inpatient and outpatient oncology nurses.

Methods: Voluntary and anonymous completion of the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD), the Death Attitude Profile–Revised (DAP-R), and a demographic questionnaire.

Main Research Variables: Years of total nursing experience, years employed at the cancer center, previous experience with caring for dying patients, age, gender, and attitudes toward death and caring for dying patients.

Findings: Statistically significant relationships were noted among age, nursing experience, previous experience with caring for terminally ill patients, and scores on the FATCOD and DAP-R. Nursing experience and age were the variables most likely to predict nurses' attitudes toward death and caring for dying patients.

Conclusions: RNs with more work experience tended to have more positive attitudes toward death and caring for dying patients.

Implications for Nursing: Based on the data collected in the study, less experienced oncology nurses will most likely benefit from increased education, training, and exposure to providing and coping effectively with end-of-life care.


My Reflections:

Working in a comprehensive cancer center, my work involves caring for cancer patients and their families throughout the entire continuum of cancer journey. Facing death squarely in my face was indeed challenging when I first started out. Filling full of optimism and enthusiasim, I care for my patients wholeheartedly. It is truly difficult to raise the topic of death and dying.

However, I learned from my patients that it was very important for us to initiate the discussion. My patients felt that they were given permission and that it was alright to talk about this taboo topic. And so, I knew that I have a duty of care towards my cancer patients. Patients should be allowed to share difficult feelings especially when their family members avoid/deny them of such opportunities. This sensitive psychosocial care is part of the holistic cancer care that health care professionals envisaged.

Being able to care for dying patients requires experiential learning and that innate sense of empathy. This goes hand in hand with our pledge to 'Do No Harm'. Hence, I am putting my hands up to support the study's discussion. Further education is necessary to empower us to cope with end-of-life care. We have to break away from these feelings of awkwardness and helplessness which are high walls of barriers. Let's reflect. We need the missing Midas touch in this end-of-life equation.



Ong Shu Xin
Counsellor, Registered Nurse
Certified Quit Smoking Consultant
Suicide, Grief and Bereavement Work
Oncology Nurses Chapter
Singapore Nurses Association