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Compassion Fatigue

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Compassion Fatigue
Compassion Fatigue

Spirituality in Health Care

Compassion Fatigue
For many of us, compassion fatigue is unheard. Is it a disease or side effect of health care environment? The following paper will cover what is compassion fatigue? What are the warning signs of compassion fatigue? And, how to seek and receive interventions to overcome compassion fatigue?
The nature of compassion fatigue and its problems
Compassion fatigue is mixture of physical, emotional and spiritual distress. According to, The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing the best and simple way to define compassion fatigue as a state of psychic exhaustion. (Barbara Lombardo, RN, MSN, PMHCNS-BC, Caryl Eyre, RN, MSN, 2011) The reason compassion fatigue affect health care workers are because of their close interaction with sick patients. Nurses’ emotional and mental state gets challenged, when nurses or health care workers get close interaction with patients suffering and pain. The close interaction also could resemble some of the family members of health care workers, which cause distress in health care workers life. (Barbara Lombardo, RN, MSN, PMHCNS-BC, Caryl Eyre, RN, MSN, 2011)
The Online Journal of Issues in nursing online, explain the reason nurses predominantly get exposed to compassion fatigue. (Barbara Lombardo, RN, MSN, PMHCNS-BC, Caryl Eyre, RN, MSN, 2011) Because, of nurses nature of providing care cause them get close to patients emotionally and mentally. Nurses become partners with patients, not as observers. The above explained involvement with patients can cause compassion fatigue in nurses (or health care workers). (Barbara Lombardo, RN, MSN, PMHCNS-BC, Caryl Eyre, RN, MSN, 2011) After reviewing many research articles on compassion fatigue, the main cause of compassion fatigue is empathy. Stress and anxiety naturally arise when caring for sick ones and it is the nature of health care jobs.
According to, article Compassion Fatigue: Are You At Risk all caregivers are at risk
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