June 2016

According to one study, between 2006 and 2010, the nursing profession grew 7%, making it one of the fastest growing occupations in the United States.

And thank goodness this profession is growing so rapidly, as these individuals are crucial to improving the quality, efficiency and safety of healthcare. As healthcare is shifting to a value-based model, with a focus on quality of care, the role nurses play is becoming even more significant. In fact, nurses also play a heightened role in patient experience, as it’s a well-known fact that they tend to spend more direct time with patients than other employees, including physicians.

Are you feeling mentally, physically, emotionally exhausted? Have you been isolating yourself, both from others as well as from life in general? Have you lost sight of the meaning and accomplishment in your work? Have you lost your optimism, humor and hope?

If you said yes to any of the above symptoms, you might be suffering from what experts refer to as compassion fatigue, an incredibly common form of secondary traumatization among healthcare workers.