I look forward to coming home and spending precious time with family. Life is short and in the end, these precious moments are all that matter. During a recent family dinner back home, the conversation turned to my niece-a bright college student who currently works as a pharmacy assistant. I asked her what her career goals were and she mentioned that she wants to be a neonatal nurse like her aunt (gush), but doesn’t know if she can handle the blood. My first reaction came as a moment of melting pride followed by an instant shift to nurse recruiter. Here is a bit of what I would say to her as well as anyone else considering this most noble profession. What exactly does it take to be a nurse??
What Does it Take to Be a Nurse?
Compassion fatigue, first described over twenty years ago in text by a nurse (Joinson, 1992) can be defined as the “loss of the ability to nurture.” It is considered a “cost of caring.” While the symptoms are similar to those of burnout, the cause and onset are different. Burn out is a result of job related dissatisfaction while compassion fatigue is more directly patient related. Burn out occurs gradually over time while compassion fatigue can be more acute in its onset. Could you be experiencing compassion fatigue?
Neonurse 