Background of Study
Kapoulitsas & Corcoran (2015) engage in a study that seeks to build a much better understanding of how compassion fatigue affects social workers’ experiences when working with a wide range of clients. The study also goes ahead to explore some of the notable ways through which social workers would be able to protect themselves from possibility of compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is one of the notable problems affecting social workers today, as it becomes much harder for them to build on their capacities to perform effectively. The study examines some of the key ways that social workers would be able to prevent their exposure such cases of fatigue.
Berg, Harshbarger, Ahlers-Schmidt, & Lippoldt (2016), on the other hand, seek to examine the relationship between compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout syndrome (BOS) as they relate to trauma, emergency, and critical care nursing practices. The study reflects on the perceptions held on CF and BOS while considering that each may affect the effectiveness of nursing practice. The significance of the study can be seen from the fact that it reflects on two key issues that nurses face today, which exposes them to serious risks of mental health issues. The objective of the study is to come up with well structured recommendations on how nurses would minimize their exposure to stress triggers while adopting coping strategies to help them deal with CF and BOS.
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How do these two articles support the nurse practice issue you chose?
Each of the two articles provides insight to the issue of compassion fatigue, which has become a key issue of concern in the nursing practice today. I intend to use the two articles to gain more insight on the implications that compassion fatigue is having when providing critical care. The articles will also provide me with information on some of the coping strategies that nurses would use as part of minimizing their exposure to compassion fatigue, which affects their ability to function in an effective way. The articles examine clear-cut recommendations in dealing with compassion fatigue as one of the ways to improve service delivery.
When comparing the interventions, as have been identified within the articles, it was clear that they are somewhat similar to the interventions that I had identified as part of my PICOT question. Kapoulitsas & Corcoran (2015) highlight the need for having to adopt psychotherapy approaches that would ensure that social workers are accorded mental health care services, which would improve their capacities to dealing with the possibility of fatigue. In my PICOT question, I identify the psychotherapy as one of the ways through which health institutions would deal with compassion fatigue in an effective way, especially in seeking to improve ability for nurses to cope with possible stressors.
Method of Study
Kapoulitsas & Corcoran (2015) adopt the use of in-depth interviews as the main research method with the focus being on six social female social workers as a way of trying to get a clear understanding of the extent to which these workers are affected by compassion fatigue. It is important to also note that a social constructionist approach informed the research design selected for this study, as it created a major shift in the expectations from the study conducted. The main benefit associated with the use of interviews as part of a study is that it provides the interviewer with flexibility based on the responses received. The limitation of interviews is that they present a major challenge in seeking to collect all relevant information, especially on the area of time constraints.
Berg, Harshbarger, Ahlers-Schmidt, & Lippoldt (2016) make use of focus groups as the main research method within which participants were expected to complete surveys on different aspects including perceived quality of life and life stress inventory. The use of focus groups was rather effective for the study, as it allowed for a better understanding of how the participants are able to cope with stressors that impact their ability to perform effectively. The main benefit of using focus groups as part of the study is that it is much easier to measure the reactions from the participants. The limitation of focus groups is that they create a high possibility of dishonesty on the part of the participants.
Results of Study
In the first article, Kapoulitsas & Corcoran (2015) find that a significant majority of social workers often find themselves dealing with high possibilities of compassion fatigue without an understanding of how this is impacting their performance. The study also found there was need for adoption of strong support systems as part of health service delivery as a way of ensuring that these social workers are able to cope with the challenges that they are facing as part of their service delivery efforts.
Berg, Harshbarger, Ahlers-Schmidt, & Lippoldt (2016), on the other hand, find that compassion fatigue is often considered as one of the key contributors to burnout among nurses, as it creates a situation where nurses find it hard to provide the services that are expected of them effectively. The study found that dealing with compassion fatigue is one of the key ways through which to cope with the rising number of cases associated with stress among nurses. The implications associated with the two studies can be seen from the fact that they seek to expound on how health workers would cope with issues of compassion fatigue. The study reflect on some of the ways through which health institutions would improve on the quality of care services provided by dealing with such cases of stress among those involved in service delivery.
Ethical Considerations
When engaging in a study, researchers are expected to take into account existing ethical considerations that would define the effectiveness of the study. The first key ethical consideration is privacy and confidentiality of the participants involved in the study, as researchers are expected to avoid possible instances where the identity of their participants is revealed. The second ethical consideration that ought to be considered as part of any study revolves around elimination of possible bias that is likely to affect the validity and accuracy of the results from the study. It is expected that researchers would avoid possible instances where their personal biases affect their presentation of results in the study.
When looking at the two studies, one of the key aspects to note is that the researchers take into great consideration the ethical considerations, as have been provided. Firstly, both studies seek to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the participants involved. In both studies, the researchers do not seem to provide possible pointers that are likely to reveal the identity of the participants that are involved as part of the study. Secondly, the researchers avoid presenting their personal opinions within the studies, as this would create a situation where the studies are exposed to biases. Basically, this allows for a high possibility of ensuring that the results of the studies are both valid and reliable.
References
Berg, G. M., Harshbarger, J. L., Ahlers-Schmidt, C. R., & Lippoldt, D. (2016). Exposing compassion fatigue and burnout syndrome in a trauma team: a qualitative study. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 23 (1), 3-10.
Kapoulitsas, M. & Corcoran, T. (2015). Compassion fatigue and resilience: A qualitative analysis of social work practice. Qualitative Social Work, 14 (1), 86-101.
