Compassion fatigue is characterized by physical and emotional exhaustion and a profound decrease in the ability to empathize. This is a secondary form of traumatic stress, as stress occurs as a result of helping or wanting to help those who are in need.
In the midst of the pandemic, practicing nurses are living in a healthcare hell – where stress levels, high prior to the pandemic, have soared to astronomical levels.
I am an Adult Educator, my passion for nursing runs deep. I have continued my education by receiving my RN first, then a BSN, and then my MSN and MPH.
What is the secret to living a healthy, happy life? This is the ultimate question many patients have asked me as their family nurse practitioner, whether directly, or circuitously.
The way we think most often determines the way we live. A thought becomes an action which becomes a habit and a lifestyle. With the challenges of healthcare today it is all too often easy to let your mind focus on the negative.
There are challenges every day to be sure. However the rewards are great. Besides a means to livelihood, the degree of personal satisfaction is immeasurable.
For many nurses entering the field of travel nursing, the first question is often, “How do I get started and how do I find travel assignments?”
“In 1994, Dr. Lucian L. Leape opened medicine’s Pandora’s Box in his 1994 JAMA paper, “Error in Medicine.” He said he was well aware that medical errors were not being reported.
It was May 1980; nursing graduation day and the reciting of the Nightingale Pledge, that includes, “I will devote myself to the welfare of those committed in my care.”
“…People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Interestingly enough, this quote by Maya Angelou was my senior quote in high-school and it has proven true in my career as a nurse in so many ways.
