Impact of Compassion Fatigue, and Burnout of Critical Care Nurses: Literature Review

Abstract

Compassion fatigue is a significant concern for critical care nurses, directly impacting their professional quality of life and indirectly affecting patient care. The article aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on the impact of compassionate satisfaction and consequent burnout among critical care nurse staff, ultimately informing clinical practice and future research directions. This article provides an extensive literature review on the impact of compassion satisfaction, fatigue, and burnout on critical care nurses. A systematic literature search was conducted using multiple databases, including PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and CINAHL. The review aimed to assess the prevalence and severity of Impact of Compassion Fatigue, and Burnout of Critical Care Nurses. The findings suggest a strong correlation, particularly within the critical care nursing field, underscoring the ubiquity of these concerns within high-stress healthcare settings. Moreover, the review suggests that organizational culture, workload, emotional intelligence, resilience, and social support can influence nursing staff's professionalism, thereby affecting the levels of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion fatigue experienced. The existence of compassion satisfaction, however, can potentially counter these detrimental effects. Thus, healthcare organizations need to recognize and address these factors to foster an environment that promotes nurses' overall well-being and satisfaction. Future research should focus on developing and testing such interventions within various critical care contexts.