Transforming Compassion Satisfaction

Abstract

Compassion in caregiving is a quality which nurses are expected to possess. Little is known in the professional literature that addresses the essences of compassion as experienced by nurses. The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of compassion in nursing practice. In this exploratory, qualitative secondary analysis study, grounded in hermeneutic phenomenology, textual data were obtained from an original study that revealed that intentional compassion energy (ICE) is what keeps nurses in nursing. This research study examined the archival data and de-identified anonymous text to understand the experience of compassion in nursing practice, and describes the usefulness, experience, and meaning of compassion in nursing practice through the lens of the theory of compassion energy. The findings revealed the emotional connection of caring for another who is suffering with the intention to care compassionately as the grounding of nursing practice. Compassion becomes the energy for caring and supports the relational process in connection between the nurse (caregiver) and patient (care recipient). The overall meaning of how nurses experience compassion was interpreted from 3 relational themes: Compassion as Emotion, Transforming the Compassion Occasion, and Connecting with Grace.