Dissertation on hospice and compassion

ok debbie, i did my part.

let me know if you need more info.

leslie

hello hospice nursing professionals!

i have been involved in hospice for a number of years--personally when my mother died, professionally as an academic researcher, and continuously as a volunteer. i am also a doctoral student in communication studies at Arizona State University, and my dissertation is on hospice workers experiences of emotion and compassion.

i am now looking for people who can share some stories, experiences, ideas and/or opinions that i can include in my study. if you would be interested in helping me out, or even just a little bit curious, i'd love it if you could click on the link below and answer any of the questions you would like - don't feel obligated to answer them all.

i'd love to include your experiences in my dissertation!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2bxyth2tancsoii1re_2f9xqg_3d_3d

thank you!

debbie way, ma

[email protected]

i'm curious:

you state in your survey:

most research would suggest that hospice workers should be burned out, yet many studies have found that they are not, and in fact report very high job satisfaction compared to workers in other health care settings. in general, do you think hospice workers are burned out? if so, why? if not, why do you think they are not

(which research are you referring to?)

Good question! - and here is one paragraph from the lit review of my dissertation. Following that I have included the full citations for these references.

"Regardless of whether or not the dynamics of hospice work have changed substantially over the past thirty years, or whether hospice employees find the work to be emotionally charged and stressful, we do know that hospice workers continue to report very high job satisfaction rates (Ablett and Jones, 2007). For example, Brenner (1997) found that among 26 nursing specialties, hospice nurses reported the highest job satisfaction rate (98%). They reported the least fulfilling aspects of their jobs were income, opportunity for advancement and work schedules, while the most fulfilling aspects were patient and family contact, autonomy and independence, and the supportive interdisciplinary work team. In fact, contact with dying patients and their families is often reported to be the greatest source of job satisfaction for palliative care workers (Grunfeld, Zitzelsberger, Coristine, Whelan, Aspelund & Evans, 2005). Likewise, in studies of hospice interdisciplinary teams (nurses, social workers, aides, and spiritual advisors), researchers found that team members were very satisfied with their jobs (Monroe & DeLoach, 2004), with nurses reporting the most satisfaction, and social workers reporting the least satisfaction among the group (Monroe & DeLoach, 2004). "

Ablett, J. R., & Jones, R. S. P. (2006). Resilience and well-being in palliative care staff: A qualitative study of hospice nurses' experience of work. Psycho-Oncology, 16, 733-740.

Brenner, P. R. (1997). Managing patients and families at the ending of life: Hospice assumptions, structures, and practice in response to staff stress. Cancer Investigation, 15(3), 257-264

Grunfeld, E., Zitzelsberger, L., Coristine, M., Whelan, T., Aspelund, F., & Evans, W. (2005). Job stress and job satisfaction of cancer care workers. Psycho-Oncology, 14, 61-69.

Monroe, J. N., & Deloach, R. J. (2004). Job satisfaction: How do social workers fare with other interdisciplinary team members in hospice settings? Omega, 49(4), 327-346.