Understanding Compassion Fatigue in Healthcare Providers: A Review of Current Literature.

Abstract

The purpose of this integrative review was to identify, review, synthesize, and analyze the existing literature addressing compassion fatigue (CF) in healthcare providers (HCPs), with careful attention to provider role and practice area. CF needs to be better understood to identify, prevent, and treat it before it becomes problematic for HCPs. CF is representative of the cost of caring and results in physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms that contribute to the decision of the HCP to leave the profession.