THE IMPORTANCE

OF COMPASSION IN
NURSING
Claudia E. Sanchez
Northwest College

Reasons Compassion is Important as a Nurse

Patient feels cared for and understood
Faster recovery
Decrease in patient accidents/falls

Patient needs to feel cared for

As surprising as it is, the medical
staff making patients feel like
they genuinely care about them,
helps in the overall treatment of
the patient. In "Compassionate
care enhancement: benefits and
outcomes" it says that, " When
the medical staff are
compassionate, they achieve
earlier and more accurate
diagnoses because the patient is
better able to divulge information
when he or she feels emotionally
relaxed and safe" (Post ,2011).

It affects the rate of recovery...

In "How Nurse Care Affects Patient

Recovery" it states that a study in
Japan ,"found that the expressed
emotion (EE) by nurses toward patients
could have an effect on a patient's
illness, with positive expression
increasing the rate of recovery"(Sacred
Heart University). So treating patients
with compassion can even affect how
fast and well they recover.

Helps Prevent Patient Injury

In"Nurses' Compassionate Care Influences Patient Outcomes" itstates,"Additionally,thepatientmaybe

morewillingtoreachouttoanursewhoseemscaringthanonewhoseemsrushedormoreinterestedinthe
equipmentthaninthepersoninthebed.Consequently,thepatientmaybemorewillingtopressthecall
bellforhelpratherthanattemptingtowalktothebathroomalone."Ifapatientisinpain,anddonotasfor
helpfromanurseduetothem"feelinguncomfortable"thereisachanceofthemslippingorfalling.
Therefore,creatingmoreinjurytothepatient.

Nurses are taught to be compassionate...

Nobodyoutsideofthemedicalfieldwouldthinkcompassionis
something that can be taught, but it actually is. To many
people,"itisaqualitythatisinnate,oneattainedevenbefore
birth" (Hart, 2011). Yet in "Ethical and Compassionate
Nursing"Middletonmentionsthatcompassionhasbeentaught
allthroughouthistory,fromthetimenursesexistedbasically.
She states that, "most textbooks began with an introductory
chapter on the moral basis of nursing and the importance of
developing a virtuous character" (Middleton ,2011). In other
words,intheverybeginningofthenurse'steachingtheywere
taughtthatcompassionwasveryimportantinthiscareer.

WorksCited
Middleton,Jenni.(2011)NursingTimesArticle:Ethical and Compassionate Nursing.(16)OnlineLink:
https://www.nursingtimes.net/Journals/2011/08/24/j/y/s/NT-Ethical--Compassionate-Care.
pdf

SacredHeartUniversity.Article:How Nurse Care Affects Patient Recovery. Onlinelink:

http://onlineprograms.sacredheart.edu/resource/nursing/how-nurse-care-affects-patient-re
covery

Wood,Debra.(2014)TravelNursingArticle:Nurses' Compassionate Care Affects Patient

Outcomes. Onlinelink:
https://www.travelnursing.com/news/nurse-news/nurses-compassionate-care-affects-patie
nt-outcomes/

PostPhD,StephenG..(2011)Article:The International Journal of Person Centered

Medicine: Compassionate care enhancement: benefits and outcomes. Onlinelink:
https://www.stonybrook.edu/bioethics/CCE.pdf
Hart,Melissa.(2011)ANurseIAm2011WinningEssays.Article:Compassion: A
Necessity For Quality Nursing Care. Onlinelink:
http://www.anurseiam.com/show_winners.php?winning_nurses_id=57