Compassion Fatigu e- Be there for Others, But Never Leave Yourself Behind?.

Nursing is one of the noblest job where the professionals are not only equipped with professional knowledge but also love, compassion and empathy in the service they render. Professionals who listens to the stories of fear, pain and suffering of others may feel similar fear, pain and suffering because they care. Compassion Fatigue represents the cost of caring. It is the emotional residue of exposure to working with the suffering, particularly those suffering from the consequences of traumatic events. It is a state of tension and preoccupation with the individual or cumulative traumas of clients as manifested in one or more ways including re experiencing the traumatic event and avoidance of reminders of the event. There are human cost associated with Compassion Fatigue. Job performance goes down, morale drops and personal relationships are effected. Peoples home life start to deteriorate and eventually it can lead to overall depletion of general health. Measures to combat Compassion Fatigue are acknowledging the existence of Compassion Fatigue, appreciation of of good work, educational programmes regarding therapeutic communication, establishing boundaries, conflict resolution, ethical dilemmas and self care. Other methods can be Time Outs for the mind and heart to refill beyond physical needs especially in situations of critical and stressful events, debriefing the staff in regular interval, budding of an experienced staff with a junior staff, journaling of the intense experience, share experiences, availability of supporting staff for counseling, self help group and providing healthy food during duty hours.