Date of Award

Spring 5-8-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing Administration and Emergency Management

Department

Nursing

College

College of Education and Health

Committee Chair

Dr. Shelly Randall

Second Committee Member

Dr. Jennifer Helms

Third Committee Member

Dr. Cheryl Monfee

Program Director

Dr. Jennifer Helms

Dean of Graduate College

Dr. Michael Bradley

Abstract

Compassion fatigue can be associated with nurses working in increased stressful environments such as the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Emergency Room (ER).  There is a gap in healthcare facilities, where structured interventions like debriefing tools are not implemented to address compassion fatigue. The purpose of this study was to determine if implementing a debriefing tool in areas where nurses are placed in high stress scenarios such as the intensive care unit and emergency department can aid in combating compassion fatigue. A piloted quantitative pre-and post-survey intervention design was used. Data was collected using the ProQOL 5 and PEARLS debriefing tool in the ICU and ER. The PEARLS debriefing tool was distributed by the ICU and ER director to their department platforms. Informed consent was obtained prior to the pre-and post-survey. A total of (N=8) participants were included in the study. Results did not demonstrate a statistically significant change in pre-and-post survey between compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. However, there was a slight decrease in median and mean scores. Further research at a larger scale is warranted.

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