87 Assessing Compassion Fatigue Among Emergency Department Professionals

Abstract

Research has shown that burnout is negatively associated with work performance. Due to the nature of emergency medicine, physicians and other emergency department (ED) health care professionals are often faced with challenges of assisting others. Compassion fatigue is the negative aspect of working as helpers. The concept of compassion fatigue stands on the premise that there is more than one area that contributes to job satisfaction. Compassion fatigue is measured using the Professional Quality of Life (ProQoL) scale. The ProQoL scale has three areas: Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout, and Secondary Trauma which are measured independent and should not be combined to create an overall score. The purpose of this pilot study was to (1) determine the degree of compassion fatigue among ED health care professionals (2) compare the frequency of compassion fatigue experienced among groups, and (3) identify factors associated with compassion fatigue. This prospective observational cohort study conveniently sampled health care professionals from a single academic ED. All participants were ≥18 years-old and currently employed as an attending, resident, nurse, or technician within the ED. Each person who did not meet the previous criteria were ineligible. The primary data collection tool was the validated ProQoL v. 5. Demographic data (age, sex, race/ethnicity, and marital status) and professional information (reason for working in emergency medicine, career satisfaction). Participants completed the survey using an online or paper-based survey. Statistical analysis were conducted using IBM’s SPSS. We performed a Cronbach alpha to test the reliability of scales. Descriptive statistics were used to report characteristics. Independent t-test and ANOVA were conducted to measure and compare compassion fatigue. 100 ED health care professionals participated in this study. Females accounted for 60% of the sample. The highest level of education for 46% of the sample was a medical degree. Approximately 55% of the sample reported that they are currently working in emergency medicine because it was their chosen career path. About 4% reported that compensation and emergency medicine being the only job they could find as the reason for their current employment status. Overall, ED health care professionals reported average compassion satisfaction (mean 39.4; SD 7.83) and burnout (mean 23.6; SD 6.30) and low secondary traumatic stress (mean 20.5; 6.15). There was a statically significant difference among all groups and compassion satisfaction (p=.03). Emergency medicine career satisfaction and compassion satisfaction were significant (p< .001). Job satisfaction was significant with burnout (p< .001). Feeling hopeless at work was significant with all scales (burnout, p< .001; compassion satisfaction, p< .001; and secondary traumatic stress, p =.002). Pleasure from work was significant with burnout (p< .001) and compassion satisfaction (p< .001). Preliminary results from this pilot study revealed that ED health care professionals experience compassion fatigue at different levels. Further research is needed to uncover specific factors that contribute to compassion fatigue. In-depth qualitative interviews could potentially inform researchers on ways to implement interventions and strategies to reduce burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and increase compassion satisfaction.