The Watson Room: Managing Compassion Fatigue in Clinical Nurses on the Front Line

The Watson Room: Managing Compassion Fatigue in Clinical Nurses on the Front Line by Crystal Denise Crewe MSN, Walden University, 2012 BSN, VCU School of Nursing, 2010 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice Walden University August 2016 Abstract The concept of compassion fatigue (CF) emerged in the early 1990s in North America to explain a phenomenon observed in nurses employed in emergency departments. A precursor to burnout, CF is a well-known phenomenon associated with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and an inability to work effectively. In nurses, CF has been shown to reduce productivity, increase staff turnover and sick days, and lead toThe concept of compassion fatigue (CF) emerged in the early 1990s in North America to explain a phenomenon observed in nurses employed in emergency departments. A precursor to burnout, CF is a well-known phenomenon associated with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and an inability to work effectively. In nurses, CF has been shown to reduce productivity, increase staff turnover and sick days, and lead to patient dissatisfaction and risks to patient safety. The aim of this study was to determine if the use of a Watson Room designated as a “quiet zone” with warm colors on the wall, massage chair, and soothing sounds in the workplace environment, reduced CF in clinical nurses at the bedside in acute care settings. The data came from a survey of nurses (n = 19) working in a level 1 trauma center in an acute care setting. This quantitative study was conducted over a two week period. A single-group of nurses completed both a pre and post professional quality of life (ProQol) survey, a 30 item self-measurement of positive and negative aspects of caring. The ProQol operationalizes in three subcategories: compassion satisfaction (10 items), burnout (10 items), and CF (10 items). The ProQOL survey results showed statistically significant differences in the mean scores in all three categories. Paired samples t tests indicate the Watson Room proved to be successful in increasing compassion satisfaction (p = .009), decreasing burnout (p = .002), and decreasing secondary trauma/CF respectively (p = .02). This study shows the importance of nurses taking care of themselves while taking care of others. Understanding CF and devising and implementing interventions to address the subject are important for nurses and patients. The Watson Room: Managing Compassion Fatigue in Clinical Nurses on the Front Line by Crystal Denise Crewe MSN, Walden University, 2012 BSN, VCU School of Nursing, 2010 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice Walden University June 2016 Dedication I dedicate this doctoral work to my beloved mother Carolyn O. Tatum who was my biggest cheerleader. I wish she was here to share my huge milestone. It was through the grace of GOD that I was able to remain in the DNP program during my mother’s illness and death. I will keep on trusting Him for my future. Thank you, Lord. Acknowledgments First and above all, I owe my deepest gratitude to the Almighty God for His faithfulness throughout the good and difficult times in my DNP journey. The completion of this doctoral capstone project was possible with the support of several people. First, I would like to thank my capstone committee members for their dedications and support for this project. My committee chair, Dr. Amelia Nichols, EdD, please accept my sincere appreciation for your enthusiasm, intellectual guidance, and your tireless support at every stage of this work. Your broad scientific intuition, and experience you shared with me have helped shaped my line of thought, and have triggered many good ideas in this project. I am indeed very grateful to you. I would like to thank my family who stood by me during this journey. I could not have done it without their support and encouragement. I’d like to thank my mentor Mamoona Arif Rao PhD, who pushed me to my maximum, and then pushed me some more. You provided critical input on each step of the project implementation, and your ideas and contributions have been absolutely invaluable. It is because of her that I have a new found love for research. I would like to sincerely thank my Chief Nursing Officer Dr. Z for believing in my vision, and providing me the tools I needed to be successful. Last but not least I would like to thank all the staff and faculty members on Vascular Surgery (my pilot unit), who have contributed one way or the other to the success of my DNP journey.