"If you can't put yourself in someone else's shoes, you can't be a nurse" : a qualitative study on nurses compassion

Abstract

Background: Nursing is viewed as a healing profession, where caring providers, in particularly nurses, can influence patients’ journey through their compassion and sympathy. When caring for their patients, nurses do not dissever patients’ body from mind, thus providing “holistic care”. In Lebanon, due to the harsh circumstance the country is going through, nurses’ well-being and emotional/mental stability are critical for compassionate care, a strong predictor for quality care. Compassion is the key element in the engagement and nourishment of patient’s spirit, and without it the care is missed or incomplete. It also brings outcomes that are favorable to patients, their families, and the health care team. Being compassionate uses a holistic approach and provides the quality of care as one would wish to receive if he/she is the patient, which brings forward “humanization” of care. Thus, the aim of this study is to discover compassion from Lebanese nurses’ perspective, while exploring both facilitators and the roadblocks that are making the delivery of compassionate care difficult. Design: A qualitative design was used to describe the real-life situations of the nurses in the knowledge and implementation of compassion in nursing practice. The participants were full time registered nurses in one university hospital in Beirut, holding at least Bachelor of Science degree and licensure in nursing practice in Lebanon with at least 6-months experience as bed side nurse. Purposeful sampling was used to select 2 to 3 participants with varied qualifications, from various units to ensure heterogeneity and get rich data. A total of 10 semi-structured interviews were carried. Data were analyzed using six-step Thematic Analysis. Results: This study brought forth 5 themes: Compassion is innate, without it, care is lost; compassion is the art of communication; compassionate care: taken away by work requirements; reciprocal paybacks of compassionate care; sustaining compassionate care. The study showed that nurses are aware of the significance of compassion and have the desire in always being compassionate since it is an integral part of care, making nursing profession holistic and complete. Also, participants considered teamwork, proper staffing, and effective communication as the facilitators in the delivery of compassionate practice. Whereas, heavy workload, inadequate staffing and non-supportive unit managers served as barriers. Conclusion: Compassion is the precursor in building fiducial bonds between patients and nurses, bringing favorable and incredible outcomes. When they are compassionately taken care of, patients demonstrate loyalty and appreciation in return.