Reading: Professional Quality of Life Scale

When you help people you have direct contact with their lives. As you may have found, your compassion for those you help can affect you in positive and negative ways. Below are some questions about your experiences, both positive and negative, as a helper. Consider each of the following questions about you and your current work situation. Select the number that honestly reflects how frequently you experienced these things in the last 30 days.

1 = Never 2 = Rarely 3 = Sometimes 4 = Often 5 = Very Often

_______ 1. I am happy.

_______ 2. I am preoccupied with more than one person I help. 

_______ 3. I get satisfaction from being able to help people.

_______ 4. I feel connected to others.

_______ 5. I jump or am startled by unexpected sounds.

_______ 6. I feel invigorated after working with those I help.

_______ 7. I find it difficult to separate my personal life from my life as a helper.

_______ 8. I am not as productive at work because I am losing sleep over traumatic experiences of a person I help.

_______ 9. I think that I might have been affected by the traumatic stress of those I help. 

_______ 10. I feel trapped by my job as a helper.

_______ 11. Because of my helping, I have felt “on edge” about various things.

_______ 12. I like my work as a helper.

_______ 13. I feel depressed because of the traumatic experiences of the people I help.

_______ 14. I feel as though I am experiencing the trauma of someone I have helped.

_______ 15. I have beliefs that sustain me.

_______ 16. I am pleased with how I am able to keep up with helping techniques and protocols. 

_______ 17. I am the person I always wanted to be.

_______ 18. My work makes me feel satisfied.

_______ 19. I feel worn out because of my work as a helper.

_______ 20. I have happy thoughts and feelings about those I help and how I could help them.

_______ 21. I feel overwhelmed because my case work load seems endless.

_______ 22. I believe I can make a difference through my work.

_______ 23. I avoid certain activities or situations because they remind me of frightening experiences of the people I help.

 _______ 24. I am proud of what I can do to help.

_______ 25. As a result of my helping, I have intrusive, frightening thoughts. 

_______ 26. I feel “bogged down” by the system.

_______ 27. I have thoughts that I am a “success” as a helper.

_______ 28. I can’t recall important parts of my work with trauma victims. 

_______ 29. I am a very caring person.

_______ 30. I am happy that I chose to do this work.

What is my score and what does it mean?

In this section, you will score your test and then you can compare your score to the interpretation below.

SCORING

1. 1  Be certain you respond to all items.

2. 2  Go to items 1, 4, 15, 17 and 29 and reverse your score.

   For example, if you scored the item 1, write a 5 beside it. We ask you to reverse these scores because we have learned that the test works better if you reverse these scores (Refer to chart below).

   
   

   
   

COMPASSION SATISFACTION

To find your score on Compassion Satisfaction, add your scores on questions 3, 6, 12, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 27, and 30.

BURNOUT

To find your score on Burnout, add your scores questions 1, 4, 8, 10, 15, 17, 19, 21, 26, and 29. Find your score on the table below.

SECONDARY TRAUMATIC STRESS

To find your score on Secondary Traumatic Stress, add your scores on questions 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 23, 25, and 28. Find your score on the table below.

Based on your responses, your personal scores are explained below. If you have any concerns, you should discuss them with a physical or mental health care professional.

COMPASSION SATISFACTION SCORE:

Compassion satisfaction is about the pleasure you derive from being able to do your work well. For example, you may feel like it is a pleasure to help others through your work. You may feel positively about your colleagues or your ability to contribute to the work setting or even the greater good of society. Higher scores on this scale represent a greater satisfaction related to your ability to be an effective caregiver in your job.

The average score is 50 (SD 10; alpha scale reliability .88). About 25% of people score higher than 57 and about 25% of people score below 43. If you are in the higher range, you probably derive a good deal of professional satisfaction from your position. If your scores are below 40, you may either find problems with your job, or there may be some other reason—for example, you might derive your satisfaction from activities other than your job.

BURNOUT SCORE:

Most people have an intuitive idea of what burnout is. From the research perspective, burnout is one of the elements of compassion fatigue. It is associated with feelings of hopelessness and difficulties in dealing with work or in doing your job effectively. These negative feelings usually have a gradual onset. They can reflect the feeling that your efforts make no difference, or they can be associated with a very high workload or a non-supportive work environment. Higher scores on this scale mean that you are at higher risk for burnout.

The average score on the burnout scale is 50 (SD 10; alpha scale reliability .75). About 25% of people score above 57 and about 25% of people score below 43. If your score is below 18, this probably reflects positive feelings about your ability to be effective in your work. If you score above 57 you may wish to think about what at work makes you feel like you are not effective in your position. Your score may reflect your mood; perhaps you were having a “bad day” or are in need of some time off. If the high score persists or if it is reflective of other worries, it may be a cause for concern.

SECONDARY TRAUMATIC STRESS SCORE:

The second component of Compassion Fatigue (CF) is secondary traumatic stress (STS). It is about your work-related, secondary exposure to extremely or traumatically stressful events. Developing problems due to exposure to other’s trauma is somewhat rare but does happen to many people who care for those who have experienced extremely or traumatically stressful events. For example, you may repeatedly hear stories about the traumatic things that happen to other people, commonly called Vicarious Traumatization. You may see or provide treatment to people who have experienced horrific events. If your work puts you directly in the path of danger, due to your work as a soldier or civilian working in military medicine personnel, this is not secondary exposure; your exposure is primary. However, if you are exposed to others’ traumatic events as a result of your work, such as providing care to casualties or for those in a military medical rehabilitation facility, this is secondary exposure. The symptoms of STS are usually rapid in onset and associated with a particular event. They may include being afraid, having difficulty sleeping, having images of the upsetting event pop into your mind, or avoiding things that remind you of the event.

The average score on this scale is 50 (SD 10; alpha scale reliability .81). About 25% of people score below 43 and about 25% of people score above 57. If your score is above 57, you may want to take some time to think about what at work may be frightening to you or if there is some other reason for the elevated score. While higher scores do not mean that you do have a problem, they are an indication that you may want to examine how you feel about your work and your work environment. You may wish to discuss this with your supervisor, a colleague, or a health care professional.