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The compassion-less physician

Dec 27, 2024

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The compassion well. 



"You can't pour from an empty cup." This is a common saying that many of you are probably familiar with. Essentially it means that you can't give anything to others if you have nothing left to give. Simple in concept, difficult to prevent in real life. 



When I was still working in the ER there were days when I would declare that "my compassion well has officially run dry". This could happen on hour 11 of a twelve hour shift, or within the first sixty minutes of starting work. My "compassion well" often felt drained by demanding patients, unreasonable family members, confrontational colleagues, or having to stay late to finish my charts. There were rare times when the well could be refilled by appreciative patients, resuscitation a critically ill patient, or a compliment from a coworker. However, most times by the end of the day my well had run dry. This is the nature of being a caregiver and working within the current U.S. healthcare system. You give so much of yourself to do your job and at the end of the day you feel depleted.



I referred to my ability to be compassionate as a "well". I chose this term because although the famous saying refers to an "empty cup" I feel that as a caregiver we have much more compassion to give than a measly cup. I also prefer the metaphor of a well because it is not easy for a well to run completely dry. The most important point is that we are human and we have a limit to what we can give to other humans if we are not taking care of ourselves. 



I remember hearing once that Mother Theresa used to give her nuns an entire year off once they had been caring for the sick for several years. She recognized how taxing being a healthcare professional (or caregiver) is, and how important true rest is. Her nuns would return renewed, refreshed, and at full compassion capacity. Why don't we adopt this practice in the medical field?



Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

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