A Comparative Study to Assess Compassion Fatigue, Burnout and Compassion Satisfaction among Casualty Nurses with Intensive Care Unit Nurses at Selected Hospitals in Vadodara

Aim: This study is focussed on comparison and assessment of compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfaction among casualty nurses with intensive care unit (ICU) nurses.

Study Design: Quantitative research approach and Descriptive - Comparative research design.

Materials and Methods: Study targeted casualty nurses and ICU nurses working at selected hospitals in Vadodara. A total of 80 casualty nurses and ICU nurses were asked to participate in this study. Convenient sampling technique was used. First tool consists of demographic variables. Second tool consists of Compassion Fatigue/Satisfaction Self-Test (CFS), assess the existing level of compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfaction.

Results: Assessment of compassion fatigue among casualty nurses revealed that 18 [60%] nurses exhibited extremely high-risk level, Analysis of burnout among casualty nurses showed that 15 [50%] half of the nurses presented moderate risk level and among ICU nurses showed that 45 [90%] majority of the nurses presented high risk levels of burnout. Examining the final component of the CFS tool among casualty nurses, more than half of the respondents 16 [53.3%] were characterised as high potential level of compassion satisfaction and among ICU nurses, half of the respondents 25 [50%] were characterised as having a modest potential level of compassion satisfaction. Independent t-test shows that there was no significant difference in the level of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction between casualty nurses and ICU nurses. But there was a significant difference in the level of burnout between casualty nurses and ICU nurses, since the t value [18.256] was found to be greater than the table value [1.990] at .05 significant.

Conclusion: Study reveals an association was found to exist between the level of compassion fatigue and demographic variables. But there was no association found in the level of burnout and compassion satisfaction among subjects with their selected demographic variables.