Injury Prevention
Hoop Dancing to Prevent and Decrease Burnout and Compassion Fatigue

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Compassion Fatigue and Burnout

Najjar et al. stated that compassion fatigue usually occurs in caring professionals who absorb the traumatic stress of those they help.2 Emergency nurses provide safe, holistic, compassionate, physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual care to multiple patients at one time. Patients and their families often present to the emergency setting in crisis. Due to the nature of their work, emergency nurses bear witness to an enormous amount of physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering.

Body Play

Play does not have a particular purpose. Play simply seeks out joy for the sake of joy. While play is gratifying, it is also vital to mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. Engaging in play has been found to enhance learning and cognition, improves the ability to handle stress, elevates mood, and promotes social skills, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution ability.12 Body play involves physical movement and includes a variety of activities including dancing and hoop dancing.

The Hula Hoop and Hoop Dancing

The hula hoop is described as a prop or a toy that has been used for play and therapeutic purposes.13 Although the hoop is a simple plastic circle, designed for all ages and sizes, people who connect with it have shared how hoop dancing has opened their lives to sense of balance, deep healing, and wellness. Hula hooping has existed for thousands of years. It has been documented as early as 1000 B. C., in ancient Egypt, where hoops were made from grape vines and bent wood.13 In addition, the

Conclusion

Burnout and compassion fatigue are occupational hazards that emergency nurses can experience, causing decreased workplace satisfaction, decreased patient satisfaction, and increased healthcare costs.2, 3, 9 If the plethora of challenges healthcare is experiencing are not addressed, nurses will continue to be at risk for occupational hazards such as burnout and compassion fatigue. Encouraging emergency nurses to participate in some form of play may influence feelings of joy and peace.

Caroline Sánchez is Clinical Nurse III, UC San Diego Health System, La Jolla, CA.

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There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (0)

Caroline Sánchez is Clinical Nurse III, UC San Diego Health System, La Jolla, CA.

Anna Valdez, Member, San Francisco Chapter, is Contributing Faculty, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN.

Lori Johnson is Clinical Nurse Educator, UC San Diego Health System, La Jolla, CA.

Section Editor: Anna Maria Valdez, PhD, RN, CEN, CNE, CFRN, C-NPT

Submissions to this column are encouraged and may be sent to Anna Maria Valdez, PhD, RN, CEN, CNE, CFRN, C-NPT [email protected]

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