Designing a Compassionate Care Program for Registered Nurses and Nurse Managers at the American University of Beirut Medical Center

Abstract

Compassion is an essential element of the nursing profession and its utilization contributes to patient satisfaction and aids in a faster recovery. However, healthcare practices continue to fall short of meeting patients’ compassionate needs. The absence of compassion care leads to increased adverse events, unsatisfied patients, and inadequate symptom management. One of the main factors for the lack of compassionate care is burnout which negatively impacts the nurses as well as the organization as a whole.

The literature shows that compassion training programs play a major role in protecting nurses from the negative impacts of burnout. These programs not only maintain the well-being of nurses, but also create a constructive and positive patient connection with fewer errors and better quality of care. The training methods should adopt several fundamental measures that include cultivating self-compassion, workplace practices, and leadership.

The project aims to design and implement a Compassionate Care Program (CCP) for registered nurses and nurse managers at AUBMC. This program will strengthen both self-compassion and the delivery of compassionate care by equipping nurses and nurse managers with compassionate skills and competencies.