ABSTRACT
RATIONALE AND AIM: Nurses caring for critically ill patients need compassionate attention and support, especially during exceptional times. The aim of this study was to provide a trustworthy description of nurses' experiences and expectations for compassionate leadership and compassion at a central hospital in Finland. The study was conducted during the early stage of the coronavirus 2019 pandemic. ETHICAL ISSUES AND APPROVAL: The voluntary nature and anonymity of the survey were stressed in the cover letter, to make sure that participants did not perceive any undue influence caused by participating in the study. METHODS: The participants were 50 intensive care and emergency nurses of a central hospital. An online survey tool with open questions was used to collect data on the meaning of compassion and on nurses' experiences and expectations of compassion and compassionate leadership. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The nurses reported a great variety of positive experiences of compassion, although the emphasis in this study seemed to be on the absence of compassion, especially in regard to leadership. The nurses expected individual attention and genuine physical and psychological presence from their immediate supervisors. STUDY LIMITATIONS: One researcher analysed the data, which can cause some bias in the qualitative analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Immediate supervisors express compassion by being physically present and by fostering an open dialogue. Compassion received from leaders and colleagues may be reproduced in patient contacts, which can increase patients' confidence and psychological safety. Participatory and simulation-based learning methods, which involve shared reflection, are recommended for compassionate leadership skills.
ABSTRACT
AIM: The aim of this study is to investigate how intensive and emergency nurses rated the adequacy of compassionate leadership during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. BACKGROUND: The pandemic has resulted in nurses' increased stress and need for compassion from leaders. Compassionate leadership is here defined as a number of leadership practices based on altruistic values and emotional intelligence. METHOD: This is a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire for 50 intensive and emergency care nurses in a central hospital in Finland. RESULTS: The pandemic had increased nurses' need for compassion, but their needs for support had not been met and their strengths and competence appreciated sufficiently. They agreed that compassionate leadership could be developed through experience and personal development rather than through education. CONCLUSION: Compassionate leadership is a process that involves a number of leadership practices based on altruistic values and emotional intelligence and benefits from recognition and use of employee strengths. Leaders and employees could benefit from simulation-based learning, work supervision and discussion led by external facilitators. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Compassionate leadership involves approachability, genuine presence and listening, which could be developed through work-based learning combined with reflection.