Torrie Robinson and Stacie Hunsaker, College of Nursing

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of compassion fatigue and burnout in emergency department (ED) nurses along the Wasatch Front, as well as what influenced these rates. Compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout is a serious issue in the medical field and interferes with the quality of care that patients receive, as well as retention rates in the field. Nurses in the ED are especially prone to these issues because they are continually at the bedside, they are exposed to many traumatic situations, and there is a high turnover rate of patients. Although knowledge of these risks is becoming more widespread in the nursing field, information regarding how to combat CF and burnout is still sparse. To aid in this area, this study also asks about coping skills (positive and negative) to determine whether certain coping patterns correlate with lower or higher CF and burnout.

This project was an online quantitative Qualtrics survey that received BYU IRB approval and was emailed to ED nurses along the Wasatch Front. The target population for this study was the registered nurses who work in the ED in Intermountain Healthcare hospitals along the Wasatch Front. The study asks about demographics, coping and the Professional Quality of Life Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue Subscale (ProQOL) to collect data regarding CF and burnout. The ProQOL questionnaire uses 30 statements for assessing behaviors that could lead to CF risk and burnout. Every statement is being evaluated and categorized to produce a CF and burnout risk score. There are 10 demographic questions asked and 10 coping questions asked (5 negative, 5 positive). The demographic characteristics and coping mechanisms are currently being analyzed to determine if there are certain factors that influence the development of CF and burnout.

The survey was completed by 74 ED nurses with ages ranging from 22 to 64 and their experience ranges from half a year to 38 years. The survey was open for three months and is currently being analyzed by statisticians to obtain results.

When nurses care for patients experiencing trauma, pain and suffering, their health and well-being may be profoundly affected.1 Sometimes a kind of secondary victimization can result in CF and burnout. CF, or secondary traumatic stress, results from the natural consequence of caring for the suffering.2 Comparatively, burnout is the gradual wearing-down process in response to job strain.3 Nurses with the least amount of ED experience have an increased risk for developing CF and burnout.4 Nurses may leave the profession of nursing due to these negative work aspects. Exhaustion in the workplace and the inability to express empathy may have devastating results for both patients and nurses.

If nurses (new nurses in particular) exercise effective coping techniques and are informed of their increased risk for the development of these problems, then CF and burnout may become less prevalent. Unfortunately, research is lacking related to coping measures nurses may find effective for reducing CF and burnout. This project was aimed at identifying successful coping techniques for nurses, which may help mitigate the effects of CF and burnout. Additionally, increased knowledge regarding CF can improve the nursing experience, foster better and more empathetic nurses, and improve retention rates in the nursing field. When analyzed, this data will give nurses some coping techniques to practice with research support. The plan is to present the research at a nursing conference and publish the findings in a nursing journal to help inform nurses about the risk of CF and burnout and how to keep it from interfering with their chosen profession.

1. Boyle, D. (2011). Countering compassion fatigue: A requisite nursing agenda. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing,
2. Stamm, B. H. (2010). The Concise ProQOL Manual (2nd ed.). Pocatello, ID. Retrieved October 20, 2014, from http://www.ProQOL.orgSabo, B. M. (2006). Compassion fatigue and nursing work: Can we accurately capture the consequences of caring work? International Journal of Nursing Practice. 12:136-142. doi: 10.1111/j.14440- 172X.2006.00562.x
3. Maslach C., Jackson, S.E., & Leiter, M.P. (1996). Maslach burnout inventory manual. (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
4. Hunsaker, S.K. (2013). Identifying factors that influence compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassionsatisfaction in emergency department nurses. (unpublished master’s thesis). Utah Valley University, Orem Utah.