Burnout

This chapter discusses burnout, an occupational hazard in health care that arises in response to chronic stress. It may affect clinicians and negatively impact patient care. Having a better understanding of burnout and developing a plan to manage it can go a long way in ameliorating its toxic effects. A general taxonomy of burnout is presented. This chapter explores common stressors giving rise to burnout. The author suggests that a better understanding of the components giving rise to burnout is a first step in addressing burnout. A mindfulness-based approach to dealing with burnout is presented. Compassion fatigue and its overlap with burnout is discussed. While burnout is ubiquitous in health care, features of burnout and compassion fatigue more specific to palliative care are discussed.