The impact of organizational compassion in health care on clinicians: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: The unprecedented exodus of workers from the healthcare system is a patient safety crisis. Organizational compassion in health care is the proactive, systematic, and continuous identification, alleviation, and prevention of all sources of suffering. AIMS: This scoping review aimed to describe the evidence regarding the impact of organizational compassion on clinicians, identify gaps, and provide recommendations for future research. METHODS: A comprehensive librarian-assisted database search was conducted. Databases searched were PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsychInfo, and Business Source Complete. Combinations of search terms regarding health care, compassion, organizational compassion, and workplace suffering were used. The search strategy was limited to English language articles and those published between 2000 and 2021. RESULTS: Database search yielded 781 articles. After removing duplicates, 468 were screened by title and abstract, and 313 were excluded. One-hundred and fifty-five underwent full-text screening, and 137 were removed, leaving 18 eligible articles, two of which were set in the United States. Ten articles evaluated barriers or facilitators to organizational compassion, four evaluated elements of compassionate leadership, and four evaluated the Schwartz Center Rounds intervention. Several described the need to create systems that are compassionate to clinicians. Lack of time, support staff, and resources impeded the delivery of such interventions. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION: Little research has been done to understand and evaluate the impact of compassion on US clinicians. Given the workforce crisis in American health care and the potential positive impact of increasing compassion for clinicians, there is an urgent need for researchers and healthcare administrators to fill this gap.

Leading in times of trauma.

An employee is diagnosed with cancer or loses a family member unexpectedly. An earthquake destroys an entire section of a city, leaving hundreds dead, injured, or homeless. At time like these, managerial handbooks fail us. After all, leaders can't eliminate personal suffering, nor can they ask employees who are dealing with these crises to check their emotions at the door. But compassionate leadership can facilitate personal as well as organizational healing. Based on research the authors have conducted at the University of Michigan and the University of British Columbia's CompassionLab, this article describes what leaders can do to foster organizational compassion in times of trauma. They recount real-world examples, including a story of personal tragedy at Newsweek, natural disasters that affected Macy's and Malden Mills, and the events of September 11, 2001. During times of collective pain and confusion, compassionate leaders take some form of public action, however small, that is intended to ease people's pain and inspire others to act. By openly demonstrating their own humanity, executives can unleash a compassionate response throughout the whole company, increasing bonds among employees and attachments to the organization. The authors say compassionate leaders uniformly provide two things: a "context for meaning"--creating an environment in which people can freely express and discuss how they feel--and a "context for action"--creating an environment in which those who experience or witness pain can find ways to alleviate their own and others' suffering. A leader's competence in demonstrating and fostering compassion is vital, the authors conclude, to nourishing the very humanity that can make people--and organizations--great.