Reflecting on the concept of compassion fatigue

Abstract

A review of the literature on the health of nurses leaves little doubt that their work may take a toll on their psychosocial and physical health and well being.Nurses working in several specialty practice areas, such as intensive care, mental health, paediatrics, and oncology have been found to be particularly vulnerable to work-related stress. Several types of occupational stress have been identified, including burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious traumatization. While the emphasis of this article is on compassion fatigue and its theoretical conceptualization, the concepts of burnout and vicarious traumatization are also discussed. Two questions are posed for discussion: 1) Does compassion fatigue exist on a continuum of occupational stress? If so, is burnout a pre-condition for compassion fatigue; 2) What are the relationships between the types of occupational stress? To what extent does non-resolution of compassion fatigue increase the risk for developing vicarious traumatization? Case examples are provided to support this discussion.