Compassion fatigue is a far reaching concept typically associated with the negative effects that a care provider may experience following intense and often stressful patient care events. Recognition of and a clear understanding of the concept is vital for communities, organizations and individuals in order to provide a fortified approach to intervention, treatment and the provisions of evidence based practices.
Gaining recognition for the past two decades, researchers have worked to further develop the concept of Compassion Fatigue (CF) by altering and adding to the definition making it more applicable it to various areas of their study including Medicine, Psychology, Sociology and Education, among others. Though well intended, there were …show more content…
(The Oxford Dictionary of English 2015) Fatigue is further defined in dictionary references as:
• The decreased ability to function or inability to respond of an organism or one of its parts due to prolonged exertion or repeated stimulation (Collins English Dictionary 2015);
• A lessening in one’s response to or enthusiasm for something, typically as a result of overexposure to it (The Oxford Dictionary of English 2015);
Compassion Fatigue
First mentioned in 1992, Carla Joinson described the concept of Compassion Fatigue as the loss of the ability of Nurses to nurture their patients due to “frequent heartache”. (Harris & Griffin, 2015, p. 81) Though referenced in her work, the concept of compassion fatigue (CF) was felt to be informal, further attempts to re-define the concept have since been made. The concept is evolving is frequently used synonymously with other related concepts such as ‘burnout’ and ‘secondary traumatic stress disorder’ (STSD). (Figley, 1995). For the purpose of this analysis, commonly accepted definitions from reference materials will be referenced, they
Gaining recognition for the past two decades, researchers have worked to further develop the concept of Compassion Fatigue (CF) by altering and adding to the definition making it more applicable it to various areas of their study including Medicine, Psychology, Sociology and Education, among others. Though well intended, there were …show more content…
(The Oxford Dictionary of English 2015) Fatigue is further defined in dictionary references as:
• The decreased ability to function or inability to respond of an organism or one of its parts due to prolonged exertion or repeated stimulation (Collins English Dictionary 2015);
• A lessening in one’s response to or enthusiasm for something, typically as a result of overexposure to it (The Oxford Dictionary of English 2015);
Compassion Fatigue
First mentioned in 1992, Carla Joinson described the concept of Compassion Fatigue as the loss of the ability of Nurses to nurture their patients due to “frequent heartache”. (Harris & Griffin, 2015, p. 81) Though referenced in her work, the concept of compassion fatigue (CF) was felt to be informal, further attempts to re-define the concept have since been made. The concept is evolving is frequently used synonymously with other related concepts such as ‘burnout’ and ‘secondary traumatic stress disorder’ (STSD). (Figley, 1995). For the purpose of this analysis, commonly accepted definitions from reference materials will be referenced, they