THE COMPASSIONATE CARE NAME

Running head: COMPASSIONATE CARE 1
Compassionate Care
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

COMPASSIONATE CARE 2
Introduction
Nursing professionals are usually the first point of contact with whom the patient
interacts initially and the most, making the profession one of the most important aspect in the
integral health care system. They are the key stakeholders in the health care system that are
responsible in provision of continuity of care and its standard. The nursing workforce is
amidst major challenging situations with increased evidence of nursing shortage and clinical
situations that are challenging. It is regarded that as the nursing professionals comprises the
majority of interaction with the patient during the provision of health care delivery,
compassionate care, which is a highly demanding expectation of the patients, is regarded as
their professional obligation [1]. The following sections of the paper will critically discuss the
provision of compassionate care in health care delivery and the major barriers or enablers to
this provision by the nursing professionals. In addition to this, the paper swill also provide
brief reflection on other major issues experienced by self during clinical practice and the
uptaken measures to address those issues.
Discussion
Compassionate Care
Clinical compassion offers a broad literature to be examined and remains largely
unexplored according to my opinion. The quality of healthcare is hugely influenced by the
prevalence of compassion exchange between clinicians, families and most importantly, the
patients. Respect for human dignity and compassion is highly demanded by patients and it is
an integral part of competent care provided to the patients by the health care workers. In my
opinion, compassion while providing care serves as an ameliorator of suffering, which is
deemed to be foundational goal of end-of-life or palliative care by several researchers.
Compassion has been linked with high relevance to spiritual and psychological needs of the
patients and their fulfillment [2].

COMPASSIONATE CARE 3
I feel that compassion and empathy, are highly vital for patient’s well-being and
makes them more comfortable in their time of suffering. Few of the clinical situation in
which the patient would require compassionate care from the nurses include fight against a
devastating disease, facing a surgical procedure or preparing for a long recovery process.
In technical terms, the definition of compassion is the awareness of the nursing staffs
regarding the distress of the patients and their desire to alleviate it [3]. With the help of
compassionate care, the nursing individuals effectively try to gain better insight on the
patient’s experience and help them to retain their dignity and independence. In my clinical
experience, few of my actions that encompasses compassion for the patient includes the use
of positive body language and voice, patiently listening to their concerns and relieving them,
and knocking on the door before entering, which helps them feel respected, dignified and get
a bit of privacy as it is often lacking in the clinical settings. Compassion is an invaluable
aspect of clinical care and helps the patient get emotional support to increase the will to
recover and survive with healthy motive [3].
Barriers to Compassionate Care Provision
The prevailing religious, and cultural concerns of the society act as major barriers to
the provision of compassionate care by the nurses. In addition to this, the contextual
environment of the hospital acts as another major barrier to compassionate care. This is a
major theme for barrier and includes inconsistency between allocated time and workload,
lack of role model, greater focus on the routines, rather than on the patients and inattention to
the needs of the nurses by the health care management [4]. In my clinical experience, I have
to often work overtime to ensure that the base standards of the health care delivery is met for
all the patients. The increased workload is due to another major issue of nursing shortage, and
the available nurses have to work overtime to meet the clinical demands.