A sk F lorence Dear Carmen, Witnessing a death is, and should be, an emotional experience. It touches the deepest part of our being, unless we have hardened ourselves as a protective mechanism so that we do not allow ourselves to be touched. The privilege of being a nurse is that we can be witness to the depths of human suffering and to the passing of life and these are extremely profound experiences. As nurses, we have to learn to navigate a pathway which enables us to care for patients compassionately. Compassionate caring is a middle path between, on the one hand, becoming over involved with our patients and, on the other hand, being disengaged and distancing ourselves emotionally from the overwhelming human experience we are witnessing. Compassionate caring enables us to show empathy and at the same time, to act in a professional, knowledgeable way. Compassionate care does not occur naturally. It is a learned skill that takes time to develop. Novices in nursing tend to be either over-involved or emotionally distanced to begin with. Over time, with the development of a sound professional attitude and the gaining of knowledge and skills, the nurse can tread the middle path of compassionate care. It is imperative that this skill is developed to prevent burnout or emotional disengagement. Sometimes a nurse fails to gain these skills and continues to become very emotional every time they witness a death. It is then time to think about whether the nurse is suffering from an unresolved grief of his or her own. If that is the case, it is very important for the nurse to seek support in managing this. There are professionals who can help with this in the University and also in most hospitals. Having said this, nursing is a very demanding profession, and it may be that the nurse is suffering from ‘compassion fatigue’ and simply needs some respite from the heavy emotional toll that their work has wrought upon them. I suggest you think about your situation. Do you have an unresolved grief? Are you suffering from ‘compassion fatigue’? When you have reflected upon this, you will know what the next step is for you. Best wishes, Florence Dear Florence, I got very emotional when I see patients passing away, and I doubt whether I am still suitable to work as a ward nurse, can you give me some advices? Thanks. Yours sincerely, Carmen Ask Florence is a column in which students, clinical instructors and nursing teachers canwrite inwith a problemor issue around clinical learning about which they would like advice from ‘Florence’, who is an experienced facilitator of student learning. We expect to receive queries about how to deal with student difficulties in clinical settings, how to give effective feedback to students, the strategies that are helpful for supporting unsafe students, and many other topics including those that students may raise. All questions will be dealt with anonymously. We will not publish your name or any details about you. If necessary we will modify questions slightly to ensure total anonymity. If you have a question for ‘Florence’, please send it to askflorence@hku.hk 5 Issue 41 Jul 2018