The term compassion fatigue was developed in 1992 when it was noticed that nurses lost the ability to provide nuturing care to their patients when dealing with heartache. Compassion fatigue can cause a decline in social, physical, intellectual, spiritual, work and emotional health. These symptoms can cause callousness, isolation, lack of spiritual awareness, decreased energy, irritability, sarcasm, cynicism, anger, boredom, absenteeism, and the desire to quit. Nurses who experience chronic stressors at work at a higher risk developing compassion fatigue. The American Nurses Association has noticed a significant rise in the levels of fatigue among healthcare professionals and states that this has safety implications in the quality of care for patients as well as nurse’s overall health.
