“Factors That Influence the Development of Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Compassion Satisfaction in Emergency Department Nurses” the Article by Hunsaker, S., et al

Introduction

Taking into account the overall tendency of the nursing profession to become a demanding and intensive occupation, nurses face a significant problem of workplace burnout. This issue is caused by numerous factors which need accurate addressing for the following implementation of the procedures aimed at the reduction of burnout in nursing. The article concentrating on this problem is entitled “Factors that influence the development of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction in emergency department nurses.” It was conducted by Hunsaker et al. and first published in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship in 2015.

Summary

The research aimed to identify the influential factors causing burnout in emergency department nurses. Similar to the analyzed study, previous research made by Vargas, Cañadas, Aguayo, Fernández, and de la Fuente (2014) addressed professional experience, length of service, job satisfaction, work shift, and specialization in their correlation with key causes of burnout. The reasons included mental exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal problems (Vargas et al., 2014). Hunsaker et al. (2015) carried out a “nonexperimental, descriptive, and predictive study using a self-administered survey” (p. 186). The sample population was chosen with the help of sending a questionnaire to 1,000 emergency nurses via e-mails, 284 of which were returned for further processing. The answers received from the participants were analyzed and evaluated according to the specifically developed scale to determine the work-related characteristics affecting the performance of nurses (Hunsaker et al., 2015). The study concentrated on compassion satisfaction, fatigue, and burnout as the key objectives of the study.

Results

The results of the research showed that the main factor influencing fatigue and burnout among emergency nurses was the low level of managerial support. The article’s strength is in its theoretical background and precise practical recommendations for nurses work under intensive working conditions. Recognizing the reasons for fatigue and burnout, the professionals will be able to increase the level of job satisfaction and eliminate burnout. The later meta-analysis studies carried out in the field of burnout factors in nurses presented more accurate and broader researches (Salyers et al., 2017; Gómez-Urquiza et al., 2017; O’Connor, Neff, & Pitman, 2018). In comparison to other studies, the analyzed article has significant limitations due to its narrow specialization aiming at emergency department nurses only. Also, the study is relatively insignificant due to a small sample of participants.

Conclusion

By the obtained and processed data, the authors concluded that the personal work-related factors and the organizational environment in a hospital reflect a clear relationship between burnout and job satisfaction. Despite its limitations and weaknesses, the study contributes to the scholarly literature on nursing issues. The findings of the research provide valuable information for nurses and healthcare leaders concerning organizational work aimed at the elimination of the causes of burnout to improve the working environment. Well-organized and competent nurses will provide high-quality and safe health services for patients thus developing medicine as an institution.

References

Gómez-Urquiza, J. L., Emilia, I., Albendín-García, L., Vargas-Pecino, C., Ortega-Campos, E. M., & Cañadas-De la Fuente, G. A. (2017). Prevalence of burnout syndrome in emergency nurses: A meta-analysis. Critical Care Nurse, 37(5), e1-e9. Hunsaker, S., Chen, H., Maughan, D., & Heaston, S. (2015). Factors that influence the development of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction in emergency department nurses. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 47(2), 186-194

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