Fatigue: Has It Affected Your Compassion?

Compassion fatigue is a concept used to describe how various stressors affect individuals who work in health care and other caregiving professions. The results of compassion fatigue may include decreased work productivity, poor quality of care, safety concerns, job dissatisfaction, and job turnover. The NICU professionals are at an increased risk for experiencing compassion fatigue because of the nature of working with critically ill infants, their families, and the additional stress of the workplace. The purpose of this article is for the NICU professional to understand compassion fatigue, identify the risk factors, recognize the signs and symptoms, and offer strategies to implement within the NICU environment.