Jean Watson revealed that nurses play a significant role in ensuring that the community is healthy. Moreover, she theorized that compassion is an integral aspect of a caring environment. “Nurses are a unique kind” was used by Watson to show that nurses should be appreciated and valued for their restorative practices that involve life and death. These encounters can negatively impact patient care standards or even lead to more serious mental health disorders (Nwaorgu, 2021). Consequently, one can analyze Watson’s statement and compassionate fatigue as she focuses on nurses’ challenges and the risks in their work fields.
Compassion fatigue is also experienced in health care as it involves emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a reduced capability to feel compassion for others. It has also been described as the negative cost of caring. Therefore, compassion fatigue relates to Watson’s statement since nurses experience emotional and physical exhaustion when caring for others. Correspondingly, nurses significantly impact the patient outcome as they spend most of their time with patients (Nwaorgu, 2021). Thus, the challenges nurses experience in their careers are largely associated with their care for other individuals.
Although nurses should ensure that patient care is exercised, they should also take care of themselves when caring for others. For instance, they can limit their chances of developing mental illnesses and other conditions by focusing on a healthy diet, having friends within the hospital, and working out. Furthermore, nurses experience burnout, and they should rest during their off days (SentĂĽrk, 2021). Nurses can also ensure that they protect themselves by observing measures such as hand washing in the hospitals to avoid Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs).
To conclude, nurses play an important role in society since they offer healthcare services to the sick in the community. Moreover, they educate people about healthy living and risk factors of various illnesses. Nurses experience compassion fatigue in their nursing practices and engage in risky practices that can cause them to develop infections. Therefore, nurses should be encouraged to take care of themselves when providing care to others.
References
Nwaorgu, R. L. (2021). The Relationship between leadership style, job satisfaction, nurse retention, and patient care outcomes: A Systematic Review (Publication No. 10260) [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies.
Sentürk, S. G., & Küçükgüçlü, Ö. (2021). Bridging healing and therapy: A mixed-methods study on support group intervention based on Watson’s theory of human caring. Holistic Nursing Practice, 35(2), 81-91. Web.