Substantial Burden in Nurses: Quantitative Studies

Introduction

In the context of present-day developments, the topic of profession-related stress in nursing practice is widely discussed. It has become an evident fact that nurses are required to cope with significant pressure, which may result in burnout. This problem presents the topic of numerous explorations in the field of medicine. This issue is also covered in both articles Does Self-Compassion Mitigate the Relationship between Burnout and Barriers to Compassion? and The Burden of a Remote Trial in a Nursing Home Setting: Qualitative Study. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to review the aforementioned studies, explain how the findings may be applied to nursing practice, and address ethical considerations.

Does Self-Compassion Mitigate the Relationship between Burnout and Barriers to Compassion?

This study appears to be the continuation of the previous work and is aimed to prove the hypothesis that the greater amount of burnout, the greater barriers to delivering compassion to patients. In addition, the second thesis for the study implies the fact that self-compassion tends to “weaken the association between burnout and barriers to compassion among nurses” (Dev et al., 2018, para. 2). In order to provide the evidence, registered nurses, who work in New Zealand, were included via non-random convenience sampling. A cross-sectional survey was applied in this exploration, including “the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, the Barriers to Physician Compassion scale, and a measure of dispositional self-compassion” (Dev et al., 2018, para. 3). It was completed by 799 nurses, who matched the aforementioned criteria and were chosen via the sampling. The cross-sectional survey proved the initial predictions of the scientists to a large extent. However, it should be mentioned that unlike was expected, self-compassion does not contribute to the weakening of the barriers to compassion, resulting from burnout.

These days, the importance of compassion and its proper delivery to patients cannot be underestimated, as it appears to be an integral part of medical services of high quality. The study proves the connection between burnout and the lack of compassion. According to Dev et al. (2018), “while self-compassion predicted lower burnout and barriers, it may not necessarily reduce the extent to which burnout contributes to the experience of barriers to compassion in medicine” (para. 5). The findings presented in the article are highly likely to benefit the nurses in case they are applied to practice.

First of all, the results may be insightful in order to supply the health care providers with decent working conditions. The findings show that there is a significant problem in the current situation, which should be addressed urgently. Secondly, the study may considerably contribute to the improvement of the medical service delivery in general, as it regards the compassionate help for the patients. Thus, the article is crucial in drawing attention to this hot-button issue in the field of medicine. It is helpful for detecting the problem on different levels and addressing it in the long run. Furthermore, it should be stated that the conduction of the study does not associate with special ethical issues.

Patient‐Related Complexity of Care: A Challenge or Overwhelming Burden for Nurses

The second article, The Burden of a Remote Trial in a Nursing Home Setting: Qualitative Study, addresses a narrower topic within the problem of nursing burnout. Although it is apparent that remote trials contribute to relieving the condition of patients, it is highly likely to put more pressure on nurses. The authors highlight that there is a lack of explorations in this regard in order to conduct a final decision. Therefore, the purpose of the study may be determined the following way: “to explore the burden associated with a remote trial in a nursing home setting on both staff and residents” (Donnelly et al., 2018, para. 2). In order to start the exploration, a qualitative analysis was conducted, and after that, scientists adhered to qualitative methods.

The exploration was located in a nursing home in Dublin, Ireland. The participants included 11 patients, who resided in this area, aged from 67 to 93, and 10 health care providers, who were the staff members of the aforementioned nursing home (Donnelly et al., 2018). Thus, the article involves examining the experience of remote trials and the burden associated with this medical service. In addition, at the end of the experiment, 6 patients and 8 workers were interviewed, and the data from special devices were also used.

As the result of the experiment, it was concluded that all the staff members mention the fact that fulfilling their duties in the context of remote trials significantly contributes to their burden. The authors found eight major features of burden among health care providers, which are:

1. “comprehension,
2. time,
3. communication,
4. emotional load,
5. cognitive load,
6. research engagement,
7. logistical burden,
8. product accountability.

Residents reported comparatively less burden” (Donnelly et al., 2018, para. 4).

As for the patients, who participated in the study, they also marked some signs of burden. However, the scientists determined only four of them:

1. “comprehension,
2. adherence,
3. emotional load,
4. personal space” (Donnelly et al., 2018, para. 4).

Therefore, both patients and nurses have to cope with additional stress while delivering or receiving remote trials, though the pressure put on health care providers is more considerable.

Like the article Does Self-Compassion Mitigate the Relationship between Burnout and Barriers to Compassion? the findings of the current study are important in the context of detecting the problem. Its importance implies the fact that it will stimulate researchers to invent a modern and effective solution in the future. Moreover, it is especially insightful, as it observes the position of clients on remote trails as well. For this reason, it could be stated that the results of this experiment will be beneficial in the long run, as they present an essential foundation for successful decision-making.

This study and the nursing practice on remote trials may involve ethical issues to some extent. Although some patients tend to feel uncomfortable when their personal space is attended to by others, and they do have the right to privacy, this help is vital for them. In some cases, people cannot be independent and perform their daily routine tasks, and this kind of medical service appears to be the only solution to their health problems. Elsewise, their living condition may significantly deteriorate, and the lack of competent medical support may lead to the development of the disease or even death. Therefore, the necessity to deliver this service is apparent regardless of the burden both for patients and medical workers.

Conclusion

Both of the articles described in the paper imply quantitative methods of exploration. In this regard, this approach appears to be insightful for clarifying important issues in nursing practice. Unlike qualitative analyses, it conveys reality and helps to detect particular difficulties. Therefore, this methodology is useful for identifying all the details and specialties for providing the most effective solution to a problem in the future.

References

Dev, V., Fernando, A. T., Lim, A. G., Consedine, N. S. (2018). Does self-compassion mitigate the relationship between burnout and barriers to compassion? A cross-sectional quantitative study of 799 nurses. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 81, 81-88, Web.

Donnelly, S., Reginatto, B., Kearns, O., Mc Carthy, M., Byrom, B., Muehlhausen, W., & Caulfield, B. (2018). The burden of a remote trial in a nursing home setting: Qualitative study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(6), 220.