Hermeneutic phenomenological research on how nurse educators make meaning of compassion and understand its role in their professional practice

Background: In the United Kingdom (UK), whilst nurse educators are responsible for developing compassion through providing high quality education, there is limited literature exploring how their lived experience of compassion is interpreted in nurse education. Objectives: To explore how nurse educators make meaning of compassion through their lived experiences in the UK. Design: Hermeneutic phenomenology. Setting: A UK school of nursing. Participants: Purposeful sampling was used to recruit twelve nurse educators. Method: Semi-structured interviews were used to explore participant experiences of compassion. Data analysis involved crafting stories and was interpreted by applying Heideggerian and Gadamerian philosophical notions to surface meanings of everyday experiences. Findings: The phenomenological themes identified nurse educators interpreted compassion through Being-with is Care; settling their colliding worlds of nursing practice and nurse education, and balancing Kairos or 'felt' time with negotiated time for compassion in nurse education. Conclusion: This research demonstrates that nurse educators share genuine concern for Being-with others that is interpreted as compassion. However, the emotional aspect of compassion is avoided in their professional practice as a means of protecting students and their own feelings of vulnerability. There are colliding views in understanding compassion. Emotional intelligence is identified as necessary to grasp 'felt' moments or negotiate a time to Be-with that is interpreted as compassion. Training and support is necessary for nurse educators to understand and develop compassion in their professional practices.