Is it harder and harder to get out of bed and go to work? Know anyone who is grumpy in the morning until they finish a large cup of stimulant? Have you overheard team members talk down to each other or make snide comments about other veterinarians? Are you exhausted at the end of every day? You may be struggling with compassion fatigue or burnout... we are all at risk.By now, most of us are aware of the concept of compassion fatigue. It's a specific type of burnout experienced by medical professionals of all varieties, that is physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausting. Veterinarians are particularly susceptible to this because of the depth of our compassion and the sincere connections we make with our clients. We become preoccupied with the suffering of both our clients and patients which leads to a form of secondary traumatic stress. We continue to give all that we have and end up unable to balance empathy and objectivity, generally losing the ability to convey the compassion that we feel so deeply. At that point, we are burned out.
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