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| Kristene “Kris”
Diggins, nurse practitioner |
Compassion, not pity
by Kristene C. Diggins
Compassion is an emotion that motivates many of us to pursue a career in nursing. Desire to help others in physical need is at the heart of the art and science of nursing. I know I have discovered incredible joy and fulfillment in improving the health of others through nursing. Compassion for a person who is suffering is a motivating force, but I have discovered there is a stark difference between compassion and pity.
Respect for another human being is at the root of compassion. It involves seeing another person as an equal. When we pity someone, however, we show lack of respect and thus demean that person. When caring for the physical needs of patients, we should always strive to see them as equals, to be motivated by compassion.
As a nurse practitioner working in a remote region of Brazil, it is easy to focus only on the poverty, the dire needs of my patients. Sometimes, I notice that this tends to turn my compassion into pity, and I lose sight of the individuality of patients.
I remember vividly the first time I became aware of this shift in focus. I was caring for an elderly, illiterate woman in the city of Porto Velho, in the heart of the Amazon jungle. As I sutured a wound on her hand, I thought about the poverty she lived in and began to pity her. After she went home that day, I thought a lot about the humble state of her existence.
A few days after that visit, she returned to the clinic with a beautiful basket in her hand. She told me she had woven the basket as a gift of appreciation for what I had done for her. As I held that basket and saw the delicate art her hands had weaved so skillfully, I was ashamed that I had only seen this woman in light of her need. My pity for her had nearly kept me from appreciating the complexity of who she was.
I can’t help but wonder how often pity for patients inhibits our respect for them. How many times in my nursing career has compassion turned to pity? How many times have I missed the opportunity to see my patients as individuals identified by more than their circumstances? Patients should not be defined by their physical need, something I hope to remember with each new patient. I cannot allow pity to guide me in my work as a nurse. Only with compassion can I offer assistance in a manner that respects individuality. Not only does it benefit my patients, it benefits me! RNL
—Kristene C. Diggins, RN, MSN/FNP, operated a small rural clinic in the Amazon jungle for eight years, where her duties included dispensing medications, suturing, ordering diagnostic tests and extracting teeth. She is presently in the United States.
