Abstract
This critique is based on the quantitative study by Lee and King (2014) titled: “Exploring death anxiety and burnout among staff members who work in outpatient hemodialysis units”. The article is anchored in the intensity of tasks necessary to extend the life of a patient, which could lead to dissatisfaction, moral suffering, compassionateness fatigue, depressive disorder, and burnout in nurses and other health professionals in palliative care. Moreover, the article focuses on the satisfaction of psychological and spiritual requirements of patients with terminal illnesses and their relatives. The critique focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the article by developing an explanation that not only dwells on the sections of the article but also creates an understandable construal up to the literature review.
Introduction
The title of the article is long but exhaustively conveys the impact of the research. The introduction affirms that high mortality could result in unsettled sorrow, as well as death anxiety, in nurses and other health professionals who encounter the deaths of the patients they had regular communication within substantive relationships. Such sorrow and stress could result in job dissatisfaction and turnover amid caregivers, which in turn could affect the morale of other health professionals and result in substandard care, poor results, and patient dissatisfaction. The introduction captures the attention of the reader as it meticulously illustrates the value of the study in a greatly sensitive matter. Even if the article lacks research questions, the introduction exhaustively demonstrates the statements of conviction upon which the authors base the focus of their study.
Statement of Purpose
The authors failed to include a clear statement of purpose in the study and instead chose to incorporate it into the introduction. The last sentence of the introduction depicts the statement of purpose to be the exploration of the impact of an educational intervention on the intensity of grieving and burnout in health professionals operating in the hemodialysis sections. This is a poor way of indicating the statement of purpose as it ought to be separate and unmistakable.
Goal
Lee and King (2014) state that the goal of the research is “to provide an overview of the impact unresolved psychological stress, primarily death anxiety and burnout, has on nephrology nurses and other staff members working in out-patient hemodialysis units” (p. 479). This is a poor goal. Considering that the article focuses on an educational intervention, the authors ought to have come up with an optimistic and not a pessimistic goal.
Objectives
The article has two objectives. These objectives are strong ones since they are based on the benefits of an educational intervention for nurses, as well as other caregivers.
Literature Review
Despite the comprehensive application of evidence (referencing) with respect to the preparations for the study, the article deeply depends on pre-existing studies in the literature review. The literature review has splendidly demonstrated how the provision of education could advance the relief and skill intensities of nurses and other caregivers and, as a result, enhance the quality of care given to the patients that are in a deteriorating condition of health. In this regard, the literature review is comprehensive.
Conclusion
The authors embarked on a sensitive topic with the issues of terminal illnesses and the effect on caregivers, which lead to a great need for an intervention. Irrespective of some weaknesses, the authors comprehensively handled the topic and gave a germane solution to the predicament.
Reference
Lee, V. L., & King, A. H. (2014). Exploring death anxiety and burnout among staff members who work in outpatient hemodialysis units. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 41(5), 479-485.