Palliative Care Can Burn You Out....Palliative Care Can Prevent Burn Out
Part 1. Palliative
Care Can Burn You Out
Have you had one of those emotionally draining days?
You know the kind of day when family meetings are not going
well. Which is exactly how you feel when
the first thing after introducing yourself a grandson asks: “why aren’t there
any lawyers present at this meeting?”
One of those days you are trying to help someone who is
seriously ill and dying. Sometimes it is
emotionally harder because they might be closer to your age, reminding you that
cancer or tragedies have no mercy. Additionally, when you are helping others
while you are also trying to care for a friend or a loved one who is seriously ill
can be overwhelming.
To be honest, the fear of being emotionally drained made me
hesitate before deciding that pursuing a career in palliative medicine was
right for me.
I once heard the palliative care pioneer David Weissman say
“I have a limit on the number of difficult family meetings I can handle in a
day, and that number is four”. No matter
how seasoned you are, difficult cases will take a toll on you. Being early in your professional career
certainly puts you at a higher risk for burn out. More than once we have made changes to the
clinical rotation situation of learners in a personal crisis to allow for some
rest, recharging and refocusing.
So why do we do this
palliative care work?
Palliative care work can be rewardin...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - Category: Palliative Carer Workers Authors: Jeanette Ross Source Type: blogs
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