Compassion Fatigue Essay Example for Free

Compassion Fatigue Essay ― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me The health care industry is made up of nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals who are dedicated to the care and healing of others. The modern medical field is a very fast-paced, stressful, and demanding environment. Often, the constant stress and demands of the job can adversely affect the healthcare provider. Not surprisingly, those who go into the healthcare industry, do so because they have a sincere desire to make a difference in people’s lives and provide care for a patient’s spiritual, mental, and physical needs. However, this type of career requires energy and dedication way beyond that of other comparable careers. â€Å"Compassion fatigue† is a common side-effect. â€Å"Compassion fatigue† can be defined as, â€Å"the gradual decline of compassion over time as a result of caregivers being exposed to events that have traumatized their patients (Cherry 497).† In fact, the damage that results from this condition has been linked to more sick days, high turnover rates, and decreased productivity. If left untreated, this condition can adversely affect patient safety, so it is vital that hospitals and healthcare providers are able to accurately recognize compassion fatigue and treat it early. (Landro, L. 2012) Compassion is an important and critical gift necessary for the care of others. Compassion can be defined as, â€Å"sympathetic consciousness of others distress together with a desire to alleviate it† (Merriam-Webster 2013). No one is immune to compassion fatigue. In fact, anyone caring for another person can suffer from it. However, compassion fatigue is more prevalent in the health care industry due to the extenuating nature of the work. The reality is that healthcare providers have an exhausting array of job duties that entail lengthy shifts, selfless service, endless dedication, love, and compassion. Due to the extreme demands, medical professionals often neglect their own personal needs for the sake of others. Every single day, healthcare professionals come face to face with disease, illness, decline in health, and death. Over time, it can be incredibly traumatizing. â€Å"Compassion is a verb.† ― Thich Nhat Hanh If not prevented or left untreated, â€Å"compassion fatigue† can negatively affect a caregiver emotionally, spiritually, cognitively, physically and behaviorally. Warning signs can manifest themselves in a variety of ways. The emotional effects of compassion fatigue can include mood disturbances, increased apathy, lassitude, irritability, discontentment, hopelessness, aggressiveness, hostility, numbness, and helplessness. (Eagan, T. 2012) Other signs may include oversensitivity, restlessness, depression, anxiety, and even substance abuse. (Lombardo, B., Eyre, C., 2011) The spiritual effects of compassion fatigue may often be harder to pinpoint. Warning signs may include subtle things such as starting to question one’s purpose in life, an increasing sense of disbelief or an increasing sense of aimlessness. (Ginter, C. 2010). The caregiver may start to question their personal religious beliefs, become increasingly skeptical and even question life’s meaning. (Portnoy, D. 2011) The cognitive effects of compassion fatigue can be easier to identify. It’s easy to observe when someone is having difficulty concentrating or is unable to focus on tasks and duties that are critical to the job. The work ethic and performance of the healthcare provider may also be affected, resulting in increased absences, low morale, decreased motivation, and overall negativity in the workplace. This not only affects the healthcare provider, but also their co-workers and patients. The physical effects of compassion fatigue can include, but are not limited to headaches, chronic pain, sleep disturbances, fatigue, and self neglect (poor diet, lack of exercise, poor hygiene). (Eagan, T. 2012) Other physical effects can include gastrointestinal complaints, hypertension, (Pfifferling, J., Gilley, K. 2000) muscle tension and cardiac symptoms (chest pain, tachycardia, and palpitations. (Lombardo, B., Eyre, C., 2011) Behavioral changes can include â€Å"isolating†, withdrawing, extreme hyper-vigilance, (Portnoy, D. 2011) apathy or extreme attention to work, avoiding, faking interest, blaming, restlessness, and even inappropriate humor (Ginter, C. 2010). â€Å"I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.† ― Mother Teresa, A Gift for God: Prayers and Meditations Although compassion fatigue can be an easy problem to identify, the specific causes of this condition are often varied and harder to pinpoint. The stressful nature of a healthcare career can certainly create â€Å"the perfect storm†. Overall, health care professionals can feel stressed about things like control over workload, lack of recognition or appreciation of doing a good job. Lifestyle changes can also cause compassion fatigue. If the person is working too much without taking time off to relax, taking on too much responsibility with no help from others, not getting enough sleep, or not having a supportive relationship in their personal life, it becomes easier for compassion fatigue to develop. People with certain personality traits (pessimistic, perfectionist, those who do not delegate, and type A, and overachievers) are particularly predisposed to experiencing compassion fatigue or burnout. The constant exposure to negative situations, stress, loss, and giving more than receiving, in addition to having a more intense personality, can increase the risk of developing compassion fatigue. (Frandsen, B. 2010) â€Å"Compassion fatigue is caused by empathy. It is the natural consequence of stress resulting from caring for and helping traumatized or suffering people† (Portnoy, D. 2011). In the medical field, nurses, doctors, and other health care providers often witness pain, suffering and death first-hand. They play numerous roles with less time, resources and support. The increased demands and stress along with the constant exposure to negative and traumatic events can build up over time and put anyone at risk for compassion fatigue. â€Å"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.† ― Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness A caregiver is not so different from a patient. Both caregiver and patient have physical, spiritual, and emotional needs that must be met. When their own needs are neglected, caregivers are unable to properly care for their patients. In short, they’re hurting themselves as well as the patients. Maintaining regular exercise, staying hydrated, staying productive, eating healthy and taking time to rest and relax are critical ways to reduce the chances of developing compassion fatigue. Although spiritual beliefs may be different from person to person, it is vital to nourish and grow in one’s faith. Those needs may be different depending on beliefs and may include going to church on a regular basis, taking the time to pray or meditate, speaking with a church leader, reading scriptures, or having time alone to reflect and think. There are many different ways a caregiver can begin to focus on their spiritual health. (StopPain.org 2013) Emotional needs are another important area that should be nurtured. Emotional needs are just as important as physical and spiritual needs. A caregiver may need time to mentally unwind, have peace and quiet, laugh and cry, and â€Å"tune in† to their personal experiences and emotions. Taking short breaks to renew emotional energy and doing things that bring you joy and happiness are ways to increase and improve emotional health. (StopPain.org 2013) By making sure the needs of the caregiver are met, the caregiver, patients, and even the company will benefit from it. There are many ways to cope with compassion fatigue. Perhaps the most important way of addressing the needs of the caregiver is to acknowledge compassion fatigue when necessary and take aggressive steps to assist caregivers in finding supportive coping strategies. Some coping strategies according to Varner, J. (2004) include: asking for assistance and support from peers or other support groups, staying positive, smiling and talking to peers, using humor to decrease anxiety and tension, giving comfort through physical contact, taking breaks with peers and not alone, using problem solving tools, generating solutions, and focusing specifically on tasks at hand. Learning how to balance work and life essentially means learning how to invest the time and energy into taking care of oneself in order to effectively take care of others. Putting together a plan of self-care (journaling, yoga, meditation, exercise, proper diet, doing things that you find pleasure in, and doing non work related activities) as well as educating yourself and others on communication skills is vital in preventing compassion fatigue. Employers can aid in combating compassion fatigue by offering on-site counseling, support groups, de-briefing sessions, and bereavement interventions (Boyle, D., 2011) that all work together to give employees the tools and skills needed for prevention. Early recognition of compassion fatigue is vital to anyone in a caring profession. Maintaining and constantly improving self-care and creating optimal wellness are crucial in order to properly care for others. .†Caregivers need to be able to deliver excellence without compromising their well-being†(Portnoy, D. 2011). Caregivers often neglect their own personal needs for the sake of others and need to realize the importance of focusing on their own needs first. By taking care of their own needs and ensuring they have a life that entails supportive relationships, health care providers will be able to successfully care for their patients long-term.

Custom Written Term Papers: Othello’s Feminine Perspective

Othello’s Feminine Perspective  Ã‚        Ã‚   The audience finds in Othello, Shakespeare’s tragic drama, the feminine perspective on life in general and on various aspects of life. These feminine perspectives from the three lady-characters are not consistent and uniform among the ladies. Let’s consider them in this paper.    Alvin Kernan’s â€Å"Othello: an Introduction† explains the protagonist’s delayed conversion to the feminine perspective:    His willingness to speak of what he has done – in contrast to Iago’s sullen silence – is a willingness to recognize the meaning of Desdemona’s faith and chastity, to acknowledge that innocence and love do exist, and that therefore The City can stand, though his life is required to validate the truth and justice on which it is built. (81)    At the outset of the play only the male perspective is given: Iago persuades the rejected suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo, to accompany him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, in the middle of the night. Once there the two awaken the senator with loud shouts about his daughter’s elopement with Othello. In response to the noise and Iago’s vulgar descriptions of Desdemona’s involvement with the general, Brabantio arises from bed. With Roderigo’s help, he gathers a search party to go and find Desdemona and bring her home. The father’s attitude is that life without his Desdemona will be much worse than before:    It is too true an evil: gone she is;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And what's to come of my despised time   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is nought but bitterness. (1.1)    Brabantio is the old father, and he hates to lose the comforting services of his Desdemona. The daughter’s husband Othello expresses his sentiments to Iago regarding his relationship... ...llo: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from â€Å"The Noble Moor.† British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.    Heilman, Robert B. â€Å"Wit and Witchcraft: an Approach to Othello.† Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. Rev. Ed. Rpt. from The Sewanee Review, LXIV, 1 (Winter 1956), 1-4, 8-10; and Arizona Quarterly (Spring 1956), pp.5-16.    Kernan, Alvin. â€Å"Othello: and Introduction.† Shakespeare: The Tragedies. Ed. Alfred Harbage. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1964.    Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.   

Report on Red Bull brand Essay

The energy drink market started to grow in the past 25 years. Red Bull was the first energy drink that started this kind of business. Throughout the unique branding strategy and extraordinary investment on marketing this brand maintained the best selling energy drink worldwide. This report will discuss on the Red Bull’s brand expression and how successful is the user perception of the brand image. History The Austrian businessman Dietrich Mateschitz created Red Bull’s energy drink formula in Thailand in mid 1980’s and the first can sold in Austria in 1987. He also developed a distinctive marketing strategy that established a new category of products. When Mateschitz questioned about the absence of energy drinks market he replied, â€Å"We’re going to invent one†. In 1992 the product reached other markets like Hungary and Slovenia, and then the United States in 1997 and the Middle East in 2000 . Today Red Bull is available in more than 160 countries and more than 35 billion cans been sold so far. Market Share Due to high demand and popularity, the market for energy drinks is constantly growing. People can now find several brands of energy drinks that offer several flavors, options and themes. With all this growth, Red bull still manages to dominate and lead the market over its main competitor such as Monster. With that, it was stated that this makes it the most popular every drink in the world. This can be reflected through the increase of Red Bull’s sales every year, selling 4.6 billion cans in 2011 and 5 billion in 2012. Customer Segmentation With Red Bull’s famous international tagline â€Å"Red Bull gives you wings†, and as an energy that is promoted to ‘increase performance’, it’s websites states that the best times to consume Red Bull is on the road, during lectures, study sessions, at work, while doing sports, playing video games, or going out day and night. This reflects that Red Bull is having a target audience of youth between 18 to 35 years old. In addition, Red Bull had a â€Å"Red Bull Brand Ambassador† Program targeting university students who work on representing Red Bull and bring the energy drink to events or parties, to attract more customers. In addition, Red Bull states that their cans are 100% recyclable, which proves being environmentally friendly and attract people concerned with the environment. Because of this unique branding strategy Red Bull was able to create loyal customers who only go for Red Bull when ever energy is needed, or not! Brand Expressions and Image The Red Bull Company tries to associate their brand with energetic and extreme events although as life style product. The current identity shows a direct connection between the product and it’s target audience, Athletes, students, hard workers, and who needs to â€Å"Vitalities body and mind†. The visual identifier is consist of two bulls butting each other which embodies strength, challenge and energy while the tagline â€Å"Energy Drink† describe the product in a quick catchy way. . Red Bull advertisings are not only pushing into being part of the cool extreme crowd and the risk-taking attitude but also showing that Red Bull is suitable with all aspects of user’s life (work, study and play). Methodology The objective of this research is to investigate publics’ attitude and perception towards the Red Bull brand. A 10 questions survey was designed based on an introductory research. The survey was distributed online and been giving to students and tutors in the Polytechnic campus. A total of 49 responses were gathered. Analysis Graph1: Demographics of respondents Graph2: Product usage It has been noticed that the majority of the respondents are not considered consumers, but since we are investigating the brand reception and not the product itself. Graph3: Aspects and associations This section is narrowed down for the respondents who consume the product and who are not, and examines their motives behind their behavior and attitude towards the brand indirectly. The results shows significant contrast between sports and studying as being what motivate the consumers, hence the brand image here support the brand expression of being part of the life style and not for sport events only. Graph4: User Perception Results indicate that most of the respondents are disagree when Red Bull is associated with sports. While above average satisfaction with the idea of it is being trending. Findings Red Bull’s current expression is focused on making the product appropriate as a life style drink and not connected to one aspect (i.e. sports). The survey that was conducted previously reflects the lack of gap between the current brand expression and the consumer perceive. The respondents are aware of the brand value that the company is trying to portray. This awareness is reflected on the public attitude which both the brand expression and image are settled on the impression of Red Bull as for the cool, fun, risk-taking crowd, not just a drink for athletics enthusiasts. Conclusions This report and survey results showed that Red Bull made successful brand equity that maintained it self on the first rank with customer satisfaction and market share. It also succeeded on delivering the right message and values to the right target audience. Red Bull keeps proving that an effective marketing plan and good brand equity could be a successful impactful business. RefErences Aaker, D. (2012, December 21). How Red Bull Creates Brand Buzz. Retrieved April 16, 2013, from Harvard Business Review: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/12/how_red_bull_creates_brand_buzz.html Bhasin, K. (2012, Febuary 15). How Dietrich Mateschitz Ignored The Haters And Created The Top Energy Drink. Retrieved April 16, 2013, from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-dietrich-mateschitz-ignored-the-haters-and-created-the-top-energy-drink-on-the-planet-2012-2 Boome, A. (2011, May 31). How food superbrands manage to become your family. Retrieved March 25, 2013, from BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13598581 Miller, J. (2011). Red Bull’s Brand Equity. West Virginia University. West Virginia: News America Marketing. Red Bull GmbH Company Profile. (2013). Retrieved April 16, 2013, from Yahoo! Finance: http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/101/101316.html Red Bull GmbH. (2013). Red Bull the company. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from Red Bull: http://energydrink.redbull.com/company Red Bull History. (2004). Retrieved April 17, 2013, from Funding Universe: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/red-bull-gmbh-history/ Appendix A: Survey sheet Red Bull Brand Questionnaire 1- Age ââ€" ¯ Less Than 15ââ€" ¯ 16-20ââ€" ¯ 21-25 ââ€" ¯ 26-30ââ€" ¯ Above 31 2- Gender ââ€" ¯ Maleââ€" ¯ Female 3- Which energy drink do you drink the most? (Select one) ââ€" ¯ Red Bull ââ€" ¯ Power Horse ââ€" ¯ Boom Boom ââ€" ¯ I don’t drink any ââ€" ¯ Monster ââ€" ¯ Burn ââ€" ¯ Other _______________ 4- How often do you drink Red Bull? (Select one) ââ€" ¯ Everydayââ€" ¯ Frequently (Once or twice a week) ââ€" ¯ Occasionally (Once a month)ââ€" ¯ Rarely (Once every four months) ââ€" ¯ Never 5- If applicable, Why do you drink Red Bull? (You can select more than one) ☠ Taste☠ Studying☠ Work☠ Physical activities (sports) ☠ Lifestyle ☠ Mixing drinks☠ Driving☠ Brand design and image ☠ Marketing strategies, events, and sponsorships 6- If applicable, Why you do not drink Red Bull? (You can select more than one) ☠ Taste☠ Pricy☠ Unhealthy☠ I don’t believe in it ☠ Bad Reputation 7- On a scale of 1 to 10 Rate the following. Do you think that Red Bull is associated with extreme sports? Not at all

Essay about Understanding and Preventing Child Abuse and...

â€Å"Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.† -- Dave Pelzer, A Child Called It Child abuse, the physical and/or emotional abuse of a child by a parent, guardian, or other person, is a major problem in the United States. Child abuse, including sexual abuse, beating, and murder have increased and it is believed that many cases go unreported. Another for of child abuse is child neglect, which includes malnutrition, desertion, and inadequate care for a child. Efforts have increased on the primary prevention of child abuse. This must be started on many different levels before it can be successful. Prevention plans on a social level include increasing the economic†¦show more content†¦Other ways of abuse make up another seven percent. There are many long-term consequences that children endure along with the physical and mental cruelty. Children may have to endure delays in reaching developmental milestones, refusal to attend school and separation anxiety disorders. Other consequences include an increased likelihood of future substance abuse, aggressive behaviors, high-risk health behaviors, criminal activity, depressive and affective disorders, personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, schizophrenia and abuse of their own children and spouse. For a proper development of the brain, the child should be shown a loving, caring, and stimulating environment during the first three years of the child’s life. There are four major levels that can influence child abuse. One being the individual level, two the family, three the community, and four the society. The following factors are believed to be factors contributing to the development of physical and emotional abuse and neglect of children. Community/society parent related, high crime rate personal history of physical or sexual abuse, lack of or few social services, teenage parents, high poverty rate of parenting skills, high unemployment, rate of unwanted pregnancy, emotional immaturity, child-related poor coping skills,Show MoreRelatedChild Abuse And Neglect Of Children924 Words   |  4 PagesChildren get abused and die everyday of abuse and neglect. In 2005 1,460 died throughout the year of child abuse or neglect. The majority of kids who get abused are mostly 3 years or younger (77 percent ). The United States has one of the worst records, losing on average of 3-7 kids everyday to child abuse or neglect. Throughout the year there are referrals to the state child protective services that involve 6.6 million children, and about 3.2 million of the children are subject to an investigatedRead MoreThe Problem Of Child Abuse1388 Words   |  6 PagesChild Abuse Community Agency To solve the problem we must first understand it. 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