OBJECTIVE To examine and report burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion satisfaction in acute care nurse leaders through a large mixed-methods research study. BACKGROUND Although nurse leaders are removed from daily patient care activities, the pervasive challenges in the work environment create conditions for professional burnout. Nurse leaders must garner compassion satisfaction from different sources, including peer and staff interactions. METHODS The Professional Quality of Life scale was given to nurse leaders at 29 hospitals in 1 health system. Sixteen leaders from 2 hospitals participated in qualitative interviews. RESULTS Six hundred seventy-two nurse leaders from 29 hospitals reported similar levels of burnout across frontline, midlevel, and director-level leadership. Directors demonstrated higher levels of compassion satisfaction and lower levels of work-life balance. Four themes emerged representing areas of professional life that potentiate and alleviate compassion fatigue. CONCLUSIONS All levels of nurse leaders must address the risk of burnout and can do so through individual and organizational resiliency strategies.

Background As caregivers in high-pressure environments, critical care nurses are at risk for burnout and secondary trauma—components of compassion fatigue. Recent findings have increased understanding of the phenomena, specifically that satisfaction and meaningful recognition may play a role in reducing burnout and raising compassion satisfaction; however, no large multisite studies of compassion fatigue have been conducted. Objectives To examine the effect of meaningful recognition and other predictors on compassion fatigue in a multicenter national sample of critical care nurses. Methods A quantitative, descriptive online survey was completed by 726 intensive care unit nurses in 14 hospitals with an established meaningful recognition program and 410 nurses in 10 hospitals without such a program. Site coordinators at each hospital coordinated distribution of the survey to nurses to assess multiple predictors against outcomes, measured by the Professional Quality of Life Scale. Cross-validation and linear regression modeling were conducted to determine significant predictors of burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction. Results Similar levels of burnout, secondary traumatic stress, compassion satisfaction, overall satisfaction, and intent to leave were reported by nurses in hospitals with and without meaningful recognition programs. Meaningful recognition was a significant predictor of decreased burnout and increased compassion satisfaction. Additionally, job satisfaction and job enjoyment were highly predictive of decreased burnout, decreased secondary traumatic stress, and increased compassion satisfaction. Conclusions In addition to acknowledging and valuing nurses’ contributions to care, meaningful recognition could reduce burnout and boost compassion satisfaction.

Amazing care delivery happens in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) around the globe, 24/7. As you are reading this abstract, thousands of acts involving extraordinary nursing have occurred in NICUs (babies have been held by their parents for the first time, parents have been comforted and given hope for their child's future, a few extra milliliters of a tube feeding were tolerated, and children were successfully weaned off ventilators). Behind each of these amazing acts are nurses who come together not only to deliver clinical excellence but also to create a NICU culture that turns fear and uncertainty into hope and optimism. Derived from the collective behaviors of staff, the culture of a NICU can also be influenced and shaped by recognizing the contributions nurses make every day. Research involving The DAISY Award (an acronym for "diseases attacking the immune system"), which recognizes nurses in a meaningful way for their extraordinary contributions, found that this type of acknowledgment benefits individuals, units, and organizations. This article explores the impact meaningful recognition can have on the NICU culture and how this type of feedback can be used to sustain healthy work environments.