Compassion fatigue or the emotional cost of caring is not a new phenomenon, but veterinary professionals are looking at it more seriously as a real threat to their professional and personal lives. Defined as a deep physical, emotional and spiritual exhaustion; it causes acute emotional pain to those experiencing it. Compassion fatigue comes from the repeated exposure to death and supporting people with intense emotions for extended periods of time.³

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Dr. Hehn's Take

Compassion fatigue is rampant in veterinary medicine- for veterinarians and veterinary technicians. It is so important to recognize the symptoms and take the steps to treat and help prevent compassion fatigue in your own life, and to know how to help others. Everyone may have their own definition for what compassion fatigue is. My personal definition is "the exhaustion and burn-out that you can feel after repeated unfortunate situations which cause you stress and in which you feel responsible about an animal’s well being."

What is your definition? Let us know, and join in the conversation about this important topic tonight!

Please join us for a very special Twitter Chat with a veterinary compassion fatigue specialist Dr. Susan P. Cohen tonight! You can join the chat by going to @SavvyVetTech on Twitter, or you can join via TweetChat.com, use hashtag #vettechchat for all tweets. "How to Manage Compassion Fatigue in Vet Med" at 5pm PST/8pm EST. The chat is for all veterinary personnel.

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