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“I get so attached to my patients that I just can’t get them out of my head when I go home.”

“Every week I find myself getting distraught over a new favorite patient who isn’t doing well.”

Is this you? As a nurse, you witness the fear, pain and suffering of others every day. But when you get too immersed in the lives and trials of your patients, you can become a victim of “compassion fatigue.” Compassion fatigue is also thought of as “secondary post-traumatic stress.” And once it sets in, you can lose mental energy and get burned out.

How do you know if you’re suffering from compassion fatigue?

• Mistakes go up and job performance goes down.
• You can’t stop thinking about your job or the problems of your patients.
• You have trouble sleeping.
• You have a general feeling of weariness.
• You don’t feel like doing anything—you feel blah.
• You feel less satisfied, less energetic and less efficient.

If you’re unsure whether you suffer from compassion fatigue, it’s time to become more self-aware. Watch how you are reacting to your patients and colleagues…and how they are reacting to you. Are you more sensitive than usual? Are your colleagues getting frustrated with you? Are your patients becoming too clingy? Too familiar? When you recognize how others perceive you and the affect you have on others, you can identify the above symptoms of burnout early.

Use these strategies to cope with job stress and to combat compassion fatigue:

• Exercise. You may feel like you just don’t have time to exercise. The physical and mental benefits of exercise will make you more productive and are worth every minute. [Editor's note: Scrubs Magazine has a great series of articles for quick workouts you can do while on the job].

• Maintain a personal life, even if you don’t feel like it. When you’re stressed, you may tend to eliminate the very things that will revitalize you—like family dinners, eating lunch out, prayer, meditation, or time with friends. Spend time with supportive people.

• Have a sense of humor. People in stressful jobs, such as psychiatric nurses, may often have a wicked sense of humor—but it’s still a sense of humor. When people who work with them recognize they’re joking around less often, it’s a sign that it’s time for a break.

• Set limits between work and home activities. Easier said than done, I know. Don’t play nurse or therapist in personal relationships.

• Broaden your network. Get involved in professional or social organizations where like-minded people meet and discuss events and mutual problems.

Editor’s note: Some of the symptoms that included in this article could be indicators for depression. Please see a mental health professional if you believe you are clinically depressed. Also, it’s okay to show emotion and share it with families and patients, but try your hardest to not get attached to patients too frequently. Sure, there will always be that special patient that touches your heart, but if you’re suffering from compassion fatigue, it is time to reevaluate your role as a professional in these particular peoples’ lives for your own sanity.

Compassion Fatigue Checklist

Additional resources to download:

Fletcher Compassion Fatigue Scoring Sheet (PDF)

Fletcher Compassion Fatigue Assessment (PDF)

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As a nurse, you witness the fear, pain and suffering of others every day. But when you get too immersed in the lives and trials of your patients, you can become a victim of “compassion fatigue.”

Use the checklist below to assess if you are suffering from this condition, then read the five strategies to help you or a coworker cope with compassion fatigue.

You can also download these two important resources:

Fletcher Compassion Fatigue Scoring Sheet (PDF)

Fletcher Compassion Fatigue Assessment (PDF)

• I feel estranged from my colleagues, my friends, my family, my patients.
• I have difficulty falling or staying asleep.
• I have outbursts of anger or irritability with little provocation.
• I startle easily.
• While working with a patient who was a victim, I’ve thought about violence against the perpetrator.
• I am a sensitive person.
• I have had flashbacks connected to my patients.
• I have had firsthand experience with traumatic events in my adult life.
• I have had firsthand experience with traumatic events in my childhood.
• I have thought that I need to “work through” a traumatic experience in my life.
• I have thought that I need more close friends.
• I have thought that there is no one to talk with about highly stressful experiences.
• I have concluded that I work too hard for my own good.
• I am frightened of things a patient has said or done to me.
• I experience troubling dreams similar to those of a patient of mine.
• I have experienced intrusive thoughts of interactions with especially difficult patients.
• I have suddenly and involuntarily recalled a frightening experience while working with a patient.
• I force myself to avoid certain thoughts or feelings that remind me of a frightening experience at work.
• I find myself avoiding certain activities or situations because they remind me of a frightening experience at work.
• I have gaps in my memory about frightening events at work.
• I am preoccupied with more than one patient.
• I am losing sleep over a patient’s traumatic experiences.
• I have thoughts that I might have been “infected” by the traumatic stress of my patients.
• I remind myself to be less concerned about the well-being of my patients.
• I have felt trapped by my work as a nurse.
• I have felt a sense of hopelessness associated with working with nurses.
• I have felt “on edge” about various things and I attribute this to working with certain patients.
• I have wished that I could avoid working with some patients.
• I have been in danger working with patients.
• I have felt that my patients dislike me personally.
• I have felt weak, tired and run-down as a result of my work as a nurse.
• I have felt depressed as a result of my work as a nurse.
• I am unsuccessful at separating my work from my personal life.
• I feel little compassion toward most of my coworkers.
• I feel I am working more for the money than for personal fulfillment.
• I find it difficult separating my personal life from my work life.
• I have a sense of worthlessness/disillusionment/resentment associated with my work.
• I have thoughts that I am a “failure” as a nurse.
• I have thoughts that I am not succeeding at achieving my life goals.
• I have to deal with “too many” bureaucratic, unimportant tasks in my work life.

Editor’s Note: If you are experiencing many of these thoughts, please consider being worked up for depression or anxiety or severe job unhappiness.