Compassion: A Concept Analysis

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Concept Analysis: Compassion
Kellie McCarroll, RN
Graceland University

Concept Analysis: Compassion
Background
Compassion has several different meanings and can evoke a variety of feelings depending on which context or discipline the word is being used in. Compassion is often referred to in the fields of medicine, nursing, education, religion, philosophy, and psychology. The ability to provide care with compassion has long been viewed as an essential aspect of nursing. According to Kret (2011) warm, pleasant, sensitive, and caring are characteristics patients often associated with a compassionate nurse. Despite the fact that the use of compassion is so highly valued and associated with nursing care, research is lacking in providing a definition of this concept and very little professional support has been given to incorporate its use in a nurse’s daily practice (Schantz, 2007). Compassion is generally associated with suffering and is used to form a bond between two or more people during a time of great distress, such as physical or mental pain, illness, or impairment (van der Cingel, 2009). While compassion will not remove the source of an individual’s suffering, it helps the one experiencing the event to persevere if they feel like someone understands what they are going through and wants to help them end their suffering (van der Cingel, 2009). In nursing empathy, caring, and sympathy are terms often used interchangeably with compassion, but these are inaccurate correlations (Schantz, 2007). According to McEwen and Wills concept analysis is used to explore the meaning of a phenomenon and develop people’s understanding of this concept (2011). Using Walker and Avant’s steps for concept analysis, the purpose of this paper is to clearly define the concept of compassion and determine its place in nursing practice.
Development of Theoretical Definition A
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