How Highly Empathic Heath Care Professionals can Prevent Compassion Fatigue
Jan 26, 2020
Having Empathy creates a better health partnership between physician/provider and patients.
Physicians who had a higher empathy score, have higher scores of emotional exhaustion, as shown in this research.
What do we do when we have high empathy scores and are therefore prone to emotional exhaustion with our work? This can result in compassion fatigue, burn out or vicarious traumatization.
Spirituality is important in patient care because it has been observed to give strength in being able to cope, have better quality of life and better well-being. This applies to ourselves also; engaging in our own spirituality will give us the strength, resilience and well being to prevent emotional exhaustion.
Signs you may be having compassion fatigue include:
😢Having Sadness & Grief
✋Avoidance or dreading working with some patients or people at work
😐Detachment and reduced empathy towards patients or families
💔decreased intimacy towards loved ones and self
🥴Somatic Complaints
🤔Change in beliefs,expectations and assumptions
😟Nightmares
Consider these tips for prevention of Compassion fatigue:
💟Take at least 20 mins daily to Connect within to the things that are meaningful and important to you (write it down in a journal or reflect)
🏅🎖Honour yourself, be kind to yourself, allow yourself the time you need to create your own self-love and acceptance (for some thats through prayer, meditation, spending time with their loved ones, being in nature, exercising) Ask yourself what will I do today to honour me? and how/when will I do it?
🙏Remind yourself of the things you are grateful for (write it down daily)
✅Create a schedule in the AM that includes time for the things you love to do (and stick to it)
👉Delegate work and don't take work home with you
🥳 Take breaks at work and at home
😽 Affirmations! Create 3 positive affirmations and say them to yourself (My 5 y/o does the power pose when she says these) or stick them around your home in your lunch bag, mirrors or wherever you want, let them remind you of how amazing your spirit is!
Honouring and Serving,
Simran Rattan
Simran Rattan