HLT 310V- Module 4 DQ 1.docx How often do you find yourself on the edge of compassion fat

HLT 310V- Module 4 DQ 1.docx  How often do you find yourself on the edge of compassion fatigue (with your family, your friends, your coworkers, your patients, your clients)? Do you think they can read it in your face? What can you do to be sure you have the emotional reserves to do what you need to do?  Multiple environmental stressors, such as expanding workload and long hours, coupled with responding to complex patient needs/desires, results in nurses feeling fatigued, depressed, detached, ineffective, irritated, and apathetic at times (Bush, 2009). Often, these stressors produce physical symptoms, which include headaches, insomnia, and gastrointestinal distress (Bush, 2009). This phenomenon appeared to escalate gradually over time as a result of cumulative stress, particularly when nurses ignored their symptoms and did not attend to their own emotional needs (Bush, 2009). According to Sabo (2011), researchers have hypothesized three personality traits that contribute to burnout, which include “type A personalities; coping styles, such as escape-avoidance, problem solving, and confrontation; and also traits sometimes referred to as the ‘big five, namely neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.”   I have encountered compassion fatigue many times working in the intensive care unit, and in my current position as a SWAT RN. Sometimes it feels like I am being pulled in every direction and I do not have the proper amount of time to spend with each patient.