Prevalence of Compassion Fatigue and Its Association with Professional Identity in Junior College Nursing Interns: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The issue of compassion fatigue among clinical nurses has received considerable attention, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the current status of compassion fatigue among junior college nursing interns remains unclear. Additionally, professional identity can modulate the impact of compassion fatigue or burnout on psychological well-being; however, whether professional identity still works in this group is also unclear. This study aimed to reveal the current status of compassion fatigue among nursing interns in junior colleges and also investigate the association between compassion fatigue and professional identity. Methods: This cross-sectional survey evaluated the levels of participants’ compassion fatigue (The Compassion Fatigue Short Scale) and professional identity (Professional Identity Scale) in 2256 nursing interns. Results: The mean score of compassion fatigue was 44.99, and 19.5% of the participants scored above The Compassion Fatigue Short Scale median scores for compassion fatigue. A moderate negative correlation was detected between compassion fatigue and professional identity. Conclusions: The level of compassion fatigue among nursing interns is low but nearly one in five nursing students is at risk of compassion fatigue. More attention should be paid to nursing interns with a high risk of compassion fatigue. Future studies are warranted to explore which pathways could mediate the relationship between professional identify and comparison fatigue.

Mediating effect of resilience between social support and compassion fatigue among intern nursing and midwifery students during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study

“…During the study period (from November 1st, 2020, to February 28th, 2021), moderate compassion fatigue was observed among intern nursing and midwifery students. This level of emotional stress was consistent with an earlier study conducted among Chinese nursing students [ 6 ] but higher than a study conducted in Chinese junior college intern nursing students from December 2021 to June 2022 [ 45 ]. Therefore, a decline in the degree of compassion fatigue was observed with the declining prevalence of COVID-19.…”

Professional identity and sense of coherence affect the between compassion fatigue and work engagement among Chinese hospital nurses

“…The results of this study show that compassion fatigue is signi cantly negatively correlated with professional identity, which supports H2 and is also consistent with previous research [38] . The study of Yi [17] showed that compassion fatigue of nursing interns not only has a negative impact on happiness, but also reduces their enthusiasm for nursing and professional identity. The formation of professional identity is a continuous development process, and an individual's educational experience, life experience, work experience and social media will all have an impact on their professional identity [17] .…”

“…According to the three-dimensional professional identity theory [16] , an individual's recognition of professional value and role value will be enhanced through the development of individual cognition, emotion and intentional behavior, thereby improving individual work engagement. Relevant studies have shown that nurses' compassion fatigue can affect nurses' professional identity [17] , and professional identity plays a crucial role in nurses' work engagement [18] . Therefore, nurses' professional identity may be an important mediating variable in the relationship between compassion fatigue and work engagement.…”

“…Although previous studies have examined the relationship between compassion fatigue and work engagement, the relationship between compassion fatigue and professional identity, and the relationship between professional identity and work engagement [14,17,21] . But at present, there is no study on the relationship between compassion fatigue, professional identity, sense of coherence and work engagement, especially in clinical nurses.…”

A study on the impact of life meaning on occupational identity of nursing students in China:A cross-sectional study

“…Previous studies have shown that nursing students' professional identity is associated with psychological resilience [16] , empathy fatigue [17] , and death attitudes [18] . A positive perception of the meaning of life can promote nursing students' understanding of the meaning of death and a healthy awareness and positive acceptance of death.…”