The purpose of this essay is to look at barriers of compassion and what nurses could do overcome these barriers. Three sub topics will be looked at over the course of this essay and a conclusion will be made to evaluate these essays findings and to provide some input into battling these barriers so that patients can receive high standards of patient care.
The definition of compassion in the oxford dictionary is ''sympathetic pity and concern for the suffering or misfortunes of others''. Oxford dictionary (2013) However senior lecturer Penny Harrison says there is no accurate definition for compassion as it is a word that can be understood in different ways. Harrison, P. (2009)
The importance of compassion is vital in any care setting where there are vulnerable people. The nurses, doctors and any other healthcare professional that is part of the team who deliver the care need to understand how important it is to understand this concept. Delivering compassion care can be something as small as holding somebody’s hand when they are in the later stages of their life, if they feel scared or another thing is as simple as listening to the patient and to hear their problems. The patient will feel better and the nurse should feel good about themselves too knowing that something as small as holding somebody’s hand or listening has benefited that patient.
The nursing standard had a report on how student nurses are eager to deliver good and professional compassionate care to their patients when out on practice however lack of time and paperwork are factors on how much time they can actually spend with their patients. It has been said that a high amount of nurses in the NHS are set to retire over the next few years and this article reports why this may be. Watson, R et al (2003) if this is the case then why is it when they become professionals then they struggle to still have