“There’s only so much I can do!” How many times have you wrestled with the feeling that you didn’t accomplish enough? At the end of the day, you think about the patients and clients you interacted with, reflecting on whether or not you did everything you could to measure-up to your standard. Your mind then shifts to a conversation you had with a team member that morning, and you question the way you handled the exchange.
Dealing with sick animals, bereaved clients, newly hired team members, managing the practice and trying to be the family person you want to be is a tall bill. Being a veterinarian is rewarding and yet, absolutely taxing – physically and emotionally at times. You love, and are devoted to, your family and your job, but the demands of both get to you, maybe more often than you’d like to admit, even to yourself.
Renee Rucinsky, DVM, DABVP, and contributing writer for dvm360.com, refers to the feeling of emotional overload in her article, Compassion Fatigue. What is compassion fatigue? We know that compassion is about feeling for others while fatigue is related to a lack of energy. Dr. Rucinsky believes that compassion fatigue is a state of complete exhaustion that leaves a person feeling physically and mentally overwhelmed.
No doubt, we’ve all experienced extreme stress at times, but veterinarians are more likely to suffer from compassion fatigue for a number of reasons: 1) the profession inherently calls upon vets to deal with many intense emotions on a daily basis 2) vets are innately caring people which means they feel for others on a very deep level, and 3) vets tend to be perfectionists, which causes them to expect too much from themselves.
What can you do to combat compassion fatigue? First, know the symptoms. In Dr. Rucinsky’s article, her list includes, “excessive complaining, isolation, compulsive behaviors (excessive spending, eating or other addictions), poor sleep habits, poor hygiene, apathy, difficulty concentrating, recurrent infections or chronic aches and pains.” Using a few of Dr. Rucinsky’s techniques as a guide in fighting compassion fatigue, start by saying “No” to stepping out of the exam room to answer that non-emergency client call, and reduce your stress by empowering your team to handle any issues that arise.
There are steps you can take to change things – and that might even include seeking professional help. We all know what’s good for us. Dr. Rucinsky touches upon the usual such as regular exercise (taking a brisk walk during your lunch hour), making healthy food choices (brown bagging it instead of heading for fast food), surrounding yourself with positive people (the vet tech who’s always willing to jump in and help wherever needed), for example.
If you start from within, you can consciously change your attitude — and that’s a good first step to a better outlook on life that will ultimately help you combat compassion fatigue.
To add to your explanation of Compassion Fatigue:
CF is a serious but natural response to working with the suffering or traumatized. All helpers of the distressed are vulnerable to developing CF.
It occurs when primary traumatic stress (the trauma we’ve experience directly in our own lives), secondary traumatic stress (the trauma we experience indirectly through witnessing others’ suffering), and burnout (the chronic stress of perceived work demands exceeding perceived resources) converge in a helper’s life.
Helpers experience CF as symptoms of posttraumatic stress, (and burnout in most cases), culminating in the loss of capacity for, or interest in, being empathic with another’s pain. (Hence, “Compassion Fatigue”.)
November 4th, 2009 at 9:00 am