RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Health care workers, especially those in pediatrics, have a high risk for compassion fatigue (CF). A wellness program (WP) might help decrease CF and increase compassion satisfaction (CS). METHOD: This project implemented and evaluated a WP in a pediatric postanesthesia care unit at a large children's hospital. The project evaluated the effectiveness of a WP using pre- and post-WP surveys, which assessed CF (i.e., burnout and secondary traumatic stress), CS, and overall satisfaction with the WP. RESULTS: Overall results demonstrated decreases in CF and increases in CS, self-care, healthy behaviors, and knowledge of CF. The perceived level of teamwork, morale, recognition, social support, and positive coworker interactions also increased. Overall, 77% of the respondents thought the WP helped decrease CF. DISCUSSION: Implementing a WP that incorporates social support, education, and healthy behaviors had significant benefits, including a reduction in CF.
