Supporting Nurses in the Critical Care Environment

Working in a critical care setting is challenging even on the best of days- critical care providers routinely encounter situations that can create moral distress and provoke instances of incivility among colleagues. This type of constant stress ultimately can lead to nurse burnout and compassion fatigue. Creating and sustaining healthy work environments is imperative to prevent disrespectful interactions, to decrease instances of moral distress, and to increase staff members’ abilities to cope within this stressful environment. The symposium in this issue of AACN Advanced Critical Care is composed of articles exploring the evidence surrounding nurses’ responses to stressful situations and the opportunities to provide and foster support for these critical care providers. Promoting resiliency, civility, and compassion satisfaction can establish the foundational environment required for care providers to function optimally and therefore provide daily care for critically ill patients.