Well-Being Prevention & Cures

Health care workers at the front line may be vulnerable to compassion fatigue

by Chia-Yi Hou | August 28, 2020 | Aug. 28, 2020

Picture of a mural painted by Mexican urban artist Sergio Morelos, aka Applezman, in tribute to doctors and nurses who are in the front line in the fight against the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, in Mexico City on Aug. 25. Getty Images

Story at a glance

  • Compassion fatigue in health care workers is work-related chronic stress from caring for others.
  • It is secondary stress from exposure to suffering.
  • Burnout is also associated with compassion fatigue.

The coronavirus pandemic has been ongoing in the U.S. for the past six months, and it doesn’t look like it is slowing down. Health care workers are experiencing burnout and fatigue, and not only physically. They may also experience compassion fatigue.

The term compassion fatigue has been around for quite some time, but may be taking on a new meaning in this global health crisis situation. It can be defined as a “work-related psychosocial consequence which may occur as a result of exposure to a cumulative level of trauma and is emotionally induced by dealing with those who have been traumatized,” according to a paper published in the Annals of General Psychiatry. It is secondary stress from exposure to suffering and is different from burnout and fatigue in that there is an emotional wellness as well as a physical wellness component. Because it is associated with chronic stress from caring for others, a symptom may be a lower capacity to feel compassion for others.

Doctors and nurses are called to action during health crises like with COVID-19 and are experiencing burnout as well as compassion fatigue. “Our job has always been to take care of others, and so often times you will put that before taking care of yourself,” University of Tennessee’s Dean of Nursing Victoria Niederhauser tells WQAD. And long-term chronic stress from increased workload can lead to burnout and potentially to compassion fatigue if self-care and emotional wellness are left to the wayside.

Experts say that one way to deal with compassion fatigue is to create ways for the voices and concerns of staff to be heard, according to Oncology Nursing News. For nurses in particular, Courtney Sullivan told the outlet that shared governance, a health work environment committee and designated spaces for nurses like a lounge with a kitchen are important to support nurses and self-care.

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This crisis may force us to think more about how health care workers are prepared to enter and work during a public health crisis. “We know that if we take care of our healthcare working workforce, they’re going to be better able to take care of the patients,” says Niederhauser to WQAD. “We try to get that started while they’re in schools because being educated as a nurse is stressful and long hours and maybe a little different than what their peers in college are doing.”

In non-health care workers, compassion fatigue can also arise in different ways. Family caregivers may experience it. Teleworkers in endless virtual meetings may experience a version of it. And anyone paying attention to the news in 2020 may also be experiencing it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines what symptoms to be on the lookout for and recommendations for caregivers. These include feeling irritable, feeling helpless and having trouble sleeping.

For health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project (CFAP) lists suggestions for physical, emotional, spiritual, social, intellectual, occupational and environmental wellness.

“We are all experiencing new territory in our lives,” writes Patricia Smith for CFAP. “If we suffer from high levels of compassion fatigue, this crisis holds the power to disrupt our well-being even further. If our energy is low, that’s understandable. Take things a little slower. Rest. Nap even more. It is imperative that we work now to sustain our energies for the time when we will need to rebuild. Believe me, that time will come.”

Smith adds, “And don’t forget, you are not alone. We are all in this together.”

For up-to-date information about COVID-19, check the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. For updated global case counts, check this page maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

You can follow Chia-Yi Hou on Twitter.

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