Piloting the Perfect Storm: A Vision for the Vital Practitioner

Background: A private university nursing program established the Initiative for Vital Practice in response to increasing levels of compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout among faculty and staff during an undergraduate program revision and accompanying leadership transitions.Method: A pilot mixed-method project evaluated self-management practices meant to mitigate CF among faculty and staff.Results: Faculty and staff (N = 34) identified four primary risk factors for CF, including physical symptoms (14 of 34 = 41%); feeling trapped in work (14 of 34 = 41%); lacking time away from work (11 of 34 = 32%); and inability to work hard enough (10 of 34 = 29%). Individual and organizational stressors and alleviators were analyzed; aggregate scores for three Professional Quality of Life scales presented at a “moderate level.”Conclusion: Preliminary results establish a baseline to measure the effect of burnout and secondary stress and guide further development of our organizational framework and initiative.