More nurses are concerned . . . “accident after a shift.” ANA Nursing World 2011 Health and Safety Survey.

The number of nurses reporting . . . “a frequent occurrence.” Ibid.

Other common nurse injuries . . . See, for example, Karyn Buxman, “Humor in the OR: A Stitch in Time,” AORN Journal (July 2008).

“Most women’s health nurses . . .” Interview.

“not only for the patient . . .” Interviews.

“If you can’t deal with it, you leave.” Interview.

nurses may be more susceptible . . . See, for example, Patrick Meadors, “Compassion Fatigue and Secondary Traumatization: Provider Self Care on Intensive Care Units for Children,” Journal of Pediatric Healthcare (January 2008); D. Boyle, “Countering Compassion Fatigue: A Requisite Nursing Agenda,” Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, January 31, 2011.

“Nurses are not only ‘first responders’. . . . ” D. Boyle.

“The patients become part . . .” Interview.

87 percent of nurses . . . Meredith Mealer et al., “The Prevalence and Impact of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Burnout Syndrome in Nurses,” Journal of Depression and Anxiety 26, no. 12 (2009).

high rates of suicide . . . See, for example, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, “Exposure to Stress: Occupational Hazards in Hospitals,” July 2008.

35 percent of nurses . . . 12 percent of emergency medicine residents. Darlene Welsh, “Predictors of Depressive Symptoms in Female Medical-Surgical Hospital Nurses,” Issues in Mental Health Nursing 30 (2009).

Occupational reasons for this depression Ibid.

Patient care can be taxing . . . people who aren’t nurses. Interviews.

“People don’t know . . .” Interview.

Workplace stressors . . . These are just a few of many examples.

In Quebec Brian Daly, “Rash of Suicides at a Quebec City Hospital,” QMI Agency, Torontosun.com, August 12, 2010.

At least one . . . “won’t be the last.” Marianne White, “Union Worried About Rash of Nurse Suicides,” Postmedia News, August 14, 2010.

82 percent of nurses . . . nurses to become ill. Charlie Cooper, “Stressed Nurses Are ‘Forced to Choose Between Health of Patients and Their Own.’” The Independent, September 30, 2013.

South African nurses . . . Tanya Jonker-Bryce, “‘Fatigued’ Nurses Threat to Patients,” WeekendPost (South Africa), June 11, 2011.

30 percent of nurses are burnt out See, for example, “Self-Care of Physicians: Strategies for Care,” Hospice Management Advisor, August 1, 2009.

defined as a “loss of caring.” M. McCreaddie and S. Wiggins, “The Purpose and Function of Humour in Health, Heath Care, and Nursing: A Narrative Review,” Journal of Advanced Nursing (March 2008).

irritability, difficulty concentrating See, for example, B. Lombardo and C. Eyre, “Compassion Fatigue: A Nurse’s Primer,” Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, January 31, 2011.

low energy, and thoughts of quitting. See, for example, Debra Wood, “How to Manage Compassion Fatigue in Oncology Nurses,” Oncology Nursing News, March 26, 2009.

related but lesser known condition See, for example, Laura Landro, “Informed Patient: Helping Nurses Cope with Compassion Fatigue,” The Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2012; Caitlin Crawshaw, “Caring Workers Pay the Price; Mind and Body Compassion Fatigue Flies Under the Radar.” The Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick), June 20, 2009. Little research has been done on the emotional impact of patient care on nurses. See, for example, M. Bloomer, W. Cross, and C. Moss, “The Impact of Death and Dying on Critical Care Nurses,” Australian Nursing Journal (September 2010).

secondary traumatic stress disorder See, for example, M. McCreaddie.

empathetic nurses unconsciously absorb See, for example, D. Boyle.

experience the traumas emotionally . . .“spiritual depletion” See, for example, B. Lombardo, C. Eyre, and D. Boyle; Patricia Potter et al., “Compassion Fatigue and Burnout: Prevalence Among Oncology Nurses,” Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing (October 2010).

“a state of psychic exhaustion.” D. Boyle.

“‘What is to give light” “Compassion Fatigue Program Gives Staff Skills to Be Resilient Against the Cost of Caring.” States News Service, January 3, 2012. Indeed, Tulane Traumatology Institute director Charles R. Figley has said, “There is a cost to caring. Professionals who listen to clients’ stories of fear, pain, and suffering may feel similar fear, pain, and suffering because they care. Sometimes we feel we are losing our own sense of self to the clients we serve.” See “Compassion Fatigue: Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder in Those Who Treat the Traumatized,” Routledge Psychosocial Stress Series, 1995.

anxiety, depression . . . loss of objectivity B. Lombardo and C. Eyre.

less able to feel empathy . . . with certain patients See, for example, Laura Landro, “When Nurses Catch Compassion Fatigue, Patients Suffer,” The Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2012.

Burnout can lead to . . . heavy-heartedness. See, for example, Meredith Mealer et al.

“Compassion fatigue does not” Debra Wood, “The Personal Cost of Caring Can Be High,” Oncology Nursing News, October 6, 2009.

“are associated with a sense . . .” D. Boyle.

“Doctors are demanding . . .” Interview. Experts say that if a nurse doesn’t treat compassion fatigue early, the condition can permanently affect the way she/he cares for patients (see D. Boyle). Yet compassion fatigue, arguably a major occupational health and safety hazard, is still relatively little known among healthcare providers.

social workers, counselors . . . See, for example, Caitlin Crawshaw, “Caring Workers Pay the Price; Mind and Body Compassion Fatigue Flies Under the Radar,” The Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick), June 20, 2009.

“They often enter the lives . . .” D. Boyle.

Simpson calculated that . . . D. Wood, “The Personal Cost . . .”

some types of personalities . . . See, for example, G. C. Keide, “Burnout and Compassion Fatigue Among Hospice Caregivers,” American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care (May–June 2002).

Also note, according to a 2014 study, nurses who are motivated primarily to help other people may be the most likely to burn out. Jeanette Dill, Rebecca Erickson, and Jim Diefendorff, “Motivation and Care Dimensions in Caring Labor: Implications for Nurses’ Well-Being and Employment Outcomes,” unpublished paper in progress, provided to the author in August 2014.

already highly empathizing people Author correspondence with Oakland University School of Nursing professor Barbara Penprase regarding a study in progress.

“We are programmed to . . .” Interview.

demands of managed care . . . Nadine Najjar et al, “A Review of the Research to Date and Relevance to Cancer-Care Providers,” Journal of Health Psychology (March 2009).

eight to ten percent . . . terminally ill patients. See Meredith Mealer et al. “The Prevalence and Impact . . .”

Other events that could lead . . . Meredith Mealer et al., “Prevalence of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Critical Care Nurses,” American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 175, no. 7 (2007).

similar to female Vietnam veterans. Interestingly, the ICU nurses most likely to exhibit these symptoms were night-shift nurses who were not the charge nurse. See Meredith Mealer et al., “Prevalence of Post-traumatic Stress . . .”