To investigate of compassion fatigue and occupational stress among ICU nurses in Class Ⅲ Grade A hospitals, and to explore the correlation.

From April to May 2017, a total of 106 ICU nurses from 2 Class Ⅲ Grade A hospitals in Zhangjiakou were recruited in the research. All the participants were investigated with a General Condition Questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Compassion Fatigue Scale and the Occupational Stress Sources of Nurses Questionnaire. SPSS 22.0 software was applied in data analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis methods was used to explain the correlation between compassion fatigue and occupational stress.

The total scores of compassion fatigue and occupational stress were (61.57±21.44) and (93.19±17.49) respectively in ICU nurses. There were significant differences in compassion fatigue scores among nurses of different age, working years and professional titles (t/F=3.718, 6.893, 2.818; P<0.05) ; there were significant differences in occupational stress scores among nurses of different working years (F=3.364, P<0.05) . Compassion fatigue was positively correlated with occupational stress (P<0.01) .

The compassion fatigue in ICU nurses is at a high level. The compassion fatigue is positively correlated with occupational stress. It is suggested that nursing managers should pay attention to the occupational stress and compassion fatigue among ICU nurses, and take necessary interventions to reduce them, so as to improve the nursing quality effectively.

Nurses; Intensive care units; Compassion fatigue; Occupational stress