Tired of caring: impact of caring on resident doctors

Abstract

Compassion fatigue, also referred to as secondary traumatic stress, is increasingly being acknowledged as a possible consequence of working in any helping a n d c a r i n g p r o f e s s i o n . P r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h h a s focused on examining this construct in a variety of health professionals – social workers, counsellors, psychologists and nurses; however, little attention has been paid to this experience in doctors. This research examined the presence of compassion fatigue in doctors. A self-selected sample of 253 doctors, working in four locations in New Zealand and training in a variety of specialty disciplines, participated in this research by completing an anonymous questionnaire which included the ProQOL (Professional Quality of Life) instrument. This instrument measures compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfaction. Results indicated that 17.1% of the sample appeared to be at risk for compassion fatigue as indicated by a high score on that subscale of the ProQOL, and 19.5% at risk of burnout. These results are similar to those reported in studies of other health professionals and suggest a need for caution on the part of clinicians and employers as to the potentially emotionally demanding aspects of patient care.