Pediatric novice nurses: examining compassion fatigue as a mediator between stress exposure and compassion satisfaction, burnout, and job satisfaction

Rika M L Meyer; Angela Li; Jessica Klaristenfeld; Jeffrey I Gold

doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2013.12.008

Pediatric novice nurses: examining compassion fatigue as a mediator between stress exposure and compassion satisfaction, burnout, and job satisfaction

J Pediatr Nurs. 2015 Jan-Feb;30(1):174-83. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2013.12.008. Epub 2014 Jan 4.

Authors

Rika M L Meyer¹, Angela Li², Jessica Klaristenfeld³, Jeffrey I Gold⁴

Affiliations

¹ Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. Electronic address: rmeyer@chla.usc.edu.
² Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder.
³ RN Residency in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.
⁴ Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; Departments of Anesthesiology & Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.

PMID: 24444742
DOI: 10.1016/j.pedn.2013.12.008

Abstract

We investigated whether compassion fatigue mediated associations between nurse stress exposure and job satisfaction, compassion satisfaction, and burnout, controlling for pre-existing stress. The Life Events Checklist was administered to 251 novice pediatric nurses at the start of the nurse residency program (baseline) and 3 months after to assess pre-existing and current stress exposure. Compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout were assessed 3 months after baseline and job satisfaction 6 months after. Stress exposure significantly predicted lower compassion satisfaction and more burnout. Compassion fatigue partially mediated these associations. Results demonstrate a need for hospitals to prevent compassion fatigue in healthcare providers.

Keywords: Burnout; Compassion fatigue; Job satisfaction; Nurses; Stress; Trauma.

MeSH terms

Adult
Anxiety / epidemiology*
Anxiety / psychology
Burnout, Professional / epidemiology
Burnout, Professional / psychology*
Checklist
Clinical Competence
Compassion Fatigue / epidemiology*
Compassion Fatigue / psychology
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Hospitals, Pediatric
Humans
Job Satisfaction*
Longitudinal Studies
Los Angeles
Male
Pediatric Nursing / education
Risk Assessment
Stress, Psychological
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Factors