Effects of Hospice Training on Staff

THE EFFECTS OF HOSPICE TRAINING ON VOLUNTEER AND STAFF

Stress can be conceptually defined as an internal response to an external stimulus or situation (stressor) (Aguilera & Messick, 1990). Burnout, on the other hand, is an occupation-related word, originally coined by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, to describe a reaction to excessive job-related stress (Bunch, 1983). Some professions are more prone to both stress and burnout than others (Vecchio, 1991); and one of the most stressful of these is working at a hospice (Brenner, 1997).

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the effects of training on stress and burnout among hospice staff and volunteers. The paper begins with a brief examination of the general nature of stress and burnout, and then goes on to review studies of these phenomena in volunteers and professional staff working in hospices.

This review is followed by a an exploration of the literature on stress reduction training programs for hospice workers (staff and volunteers), which, in turn, is followed by data collected by this investigator during an interview with the Director of Volunteers at a large local hospice facility. The paper concludes with the formulation of several conclusions, based on the reviewed studies, about the effects of hospice training on volunteer and staff stress and burnout.

General Nature of Stress and Burnout

Physical Determinants and Correlates

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structural, organizational training); and (2) training that aims directly at stress reduction. Both types of training programs have been examined for their effects on volunteer workers. The next section of the review examines this research. Program Effectiveness A structural training program for hospice volunteers was evaluated by Hayslip and Walling (1985-1986); of specific interest in the study was determining the effects of the program on volunteers' locus of control and death anxiety. Experimental participants consisted of hospice volunteers who underwent an eight-week volunteer training course (N = 29) and controls who were selected from the hospice mailing list (N = 30). Analyses were said to indicate that both groups decreased in generalized conscious death fear, but increased in their conscious fear of others' deaths, although experimental participants did so to a somewhat greater extent. An overall decrease in several unconscious death-related fears (e.g., loss of control, overall covert death anxiety) was also observed for the experimental group. However, it was found that training participants tended to repress death fears more often, relative to controls. While training seemed to sensitize participants t

Category: Psychology - E