Longitudinal study of a compassion fatigue resiliency intervention in nurse residents

Abstract

Nurse residents are at greater risk of compassion fatigue compared to more experienced nurses.  The amended 2015 Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Standards of Entry-To-Practice Accreditation of Nurse Residency Programs require that residency programs include approaches to prevent compassion fatigue in their education experiences. This manuscript reports 6-month follow-up results of a longitudinal study in new graduate nurses that evaluated the influence of a four-hour resiliency intervention for compassion fatigue in two hospitals with nurse residency programs within an academic medical center system. We previously reported a statistically significant decrease in mean STS from baseline to 2-months (p < .001). Using a paired t-test, compassion satisfaction (CS) and the two elements of compassion fatigue (CF), secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout (BO), were measured against 6-month post-intervention. Prevalence and changes in mean scores were reported, suggesting that the results found at 2-month follow-up (n = 94) were sustained at 6-month follow-up (n = 34). The mean STS showed a statistically significant decrease from 2-months and 6-months (p < .001). A decrease in BO and mean increase in CS were not statistically significant, but were trending in a positive direction. As theorized, both STS and BO decreased from baseline to 2-months and 6-months after the-intervention, and CS increased. These results indicate that early compassion fatigue resiliency education may be helpful in increasing CS and lowering the symptoms of CF in nurse residents.