The Three-fold Harms of Compassion Fatigue During COVID-19 Surges

Among the sad pandemic lessons learned is that empathy – like ventilators and PPE – is a finite resource. Nearly two grueling years of work in overstrained and understaffed hospitals have left many health workers overwrought. Terms like “compassion fatigue” and COVID-19-related “burnout” have gained currency in our discourse and comprise the mounting emotional burden levied on health providers as the pandemic wears on. “Compassion fatigue” refers to the depletion of empathy from high volume, emotionally ponderous caseloads with inadequate time to recharge from patient care duties1; the latter term, “burnout,” may exist on a con tinuum with compassion fatigue but is characterized by marked demoralization and cynicism.
Source: The American Journal of Medicine - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research