Search

English: Individuals choose nursing as their occupation due to their desire to care for others who are in pain or are experiencing suffering. Although they experience a high level of satisfaction from their occupation, not all nurses are equipped to deal with the effects of being exposed to secondary trauma. Those working in trauma units are exposed to trauma on a daily basis and are therefore at risk of developing compassion fatigue (CF). The consequences of CF are noticeable in the personal and interpersonal lives of individuals, as well as in their occupation. Resilience, however, can mitigate the negative effects of CF. Therefore, it is important for nurses to enhance their level of resiliency. The aim of this study was to explore and describe South African nursing professionals’ experiences of compassion fatigue and resilience. A qualitative multiple case study approach was used to elicit rich descriptions from research participants in connection with their experiences of CF and resilience. Six participants were chosen for the study. These participants were recruited by means of purposeful sampling. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data for this study. Transcriptions of the interviews were done verbatim and thematic analysis was conducted in order to analyse the data. Four main themes emanated from the data analysis: firstly, the different types of fatigue and their impact on nurses emerged as a theme. The second theme consists of the coping strategies that aid nurses in overcoming CF and developing resilience. Thirdly, the intrapersonal characteristics needed to cope emerged as an important part of nursing. Finally, the ways in which nurses care for and support their patients emerged as a theme within this study. The findings reveal that trauma nurses experience various types of fatigue due to the amount of compassion they display. Therefore, making use of coping strategies that aid them in developing resilience, reduces the negative effects, Afrikaans: Mense kies verpleging as beroep omdat hulle ander wat pyn ly of leed verduur, wil versorg. Hoewel hulle in ’n hoë mate bevrediging uit hul beroep put, is nie alle verpleegsters daartoe toegerus om die gevolge van hul blootstelling aan sekondêre trauma te kan hanteer nie. Verpleegsters wat in trauma-eenhede werk ervaar daagliks trauma. Daarom loop hulle gevaar dat hul medelydsaamheid afgestomp kan raak. Die gevolge daarvan is duidelik te sien nie slegs in die persoonlike en interpersoonlike lewens van verpleegsters nie, maar ook in hul beroepsbedrywighede. Veerkragtigheid kan die negatiewe gevolge van emosionele tamheid verminder. Dus is dit belangrik dat verpleegsters die vlakke van hul veerkragtigheid moet verhoog. Die doel van die onderstaande studie is om die ervaringe van Suid-Afrikaanse beroepsverpleegsters ten opsigte van emosionele tamheid en veerkragtigheid te ondersoek en te beskryf. ’n Kwalitatiewe veelvuldige gevallestudie is gebruik om van die deelnemers in die navorsing diepgaande beskrywings te bekom ten opsigte van hul ervaring van emosionele tamheid en veerkragtigheid. Ses deelnemers is vir die studieprojek geselekteer. Hierdie deelnemers is deur die gebruik van doelgerigte steekproeftrekking gewerf. Semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude is gebruik om die data vir hierdie studie in te samel. Die onderhoude is woordeliks opgeteken waarna die data volgens tematiese analise ontleed is. Vier hooftemas het uit die data-ontleding geblyk. Eerstens het vier soorte emosionele tamheid en die uitwerking daarvan op verpleegsters aan die lig gekom. Die tweede tema bestaan uit die coping-strategieë wat verpleegsters help om emosionele tamheid te oorkom en om hul veerkragtigheid te ontwikkel. Derdens was dit die onmisbare interpersoonlike hoedanighede wat ’n integrerende deel van verpleging uitmaak. Die laaste tema wat uit die studie geblyk het, was die wyses waarop verpleegsters hul pasiënte versorg en ondersteun. Die bevindinge toon dat trauma-verpleegsters