A self-study of a social work intern's response to palliative care

Caring for terminally ill patients is challenging for professional caregivers. The purpose of this self-study was to explore this researcher's responses and experiences of providing palliative care services to veterans and their families A purposeful sample of one social work intern was utilized. Data was collected using a series of questions based upon Figley's (1995) compassion satisfaction/compassion fatigue scale for helpers and this researcher's written log of experiences as a palliative care intern. The findings included the importance of social workers incorporating self-care techniques to decrease their risk of developing compassion fatigue and burnout. In addition, social workers would benefit from using a personal log to reflect on their experiences. It is hoped that the findings from this study will encourage social workers and healthcare providers to reflect on their experiences and responses to working on a palliative care team This reflection will help social workers and healthcare providers become aware of their risk of developing compassion fatigue as well as ways of decreasing those risks and ultimately increase compassion satisfaction.