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Effects of Compassion Fatigue on Surgical Staff Productivity
Get PDFCompassion fatigue is a psychological phenomenon affecting many healthcare professionals; however, many professionals are unaware of compassion fatigue or its signs and symptoms. Individuals suffering from compassion fatigue may experience mental and physical side effects and a decline in their work productivity. This quality improvement project was aimed at determining if implementing Vintapatr’s compassion fatigue education and management program would improve perceived levels of compassion fatigue and reduce operating room turnover time. The researcher utilized a descriptive correlational design to identify the relationship between compassion fatigue levels and operating room turnover times. This quality improvement project was implemented at a standalone surgery center with nine surgical nurses and scrub technicians. Participants were educated using Vintapatr’s compassion fatigue education and management program. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and a pre- and postintervention Professional Quality of Life scale instrument, Version 5. A Pearson correlation and t test were used to analyze the data. The postintervention surveys presented a 6% increase in participants’ compassion satisfaction, a 10% decrease in burnout, and an 8% decrease in secondary traumatic stress. The postintervention turnover time was 33 minutes, 3 minutes shorter than the preintervention turnover time of 36 minutes. The Pearson correlation coefficient was high for compassion satisfaction (85%) and burnout (69%), thus indicating a positive correlation between compassion fatigue and turnover time. The findings of this project emphasize the importance of self-care to mitigate and prevent compassion fatigue and improve employee productivity
