The self-assessment form used by Roop and Figley in their research on compassion fatigue and burnout in veterinary professionals in the US, together with other helpful information and resources, can be accessed at http://proqol.org/.
Some things you can do to recover from compassion fatigue are:
- Talk about any difficult experiences or clinical decisions and get reassurance from your colleagues
- Foster team building and a blame-free supportive culture in your workplace
- Make use of online facilities like the SPVS discussion forum or Vetlife Helpline’s anonymous email support
- Take time to do things outside of veterinary work which restore your body and spirit – surfing the internet or watching TV aren’t usually rejuvenating
- Be clear about what you get from your job and decide the limits of what you will give to it
- Focus on proper self-care – make a formal plan and get help to follow it through. See Self Care
- Find the balance between performing well at work with the time and resources that you have, and being able to let go of inward or outward expectations of perfection.
- If you think that you might be developing more serious mental health difficulties, you can confidentially check out how you are doing through the NHS website. It can also be helpful to take note of what other people are telling you; if the people closest to you are worried then you should seek a professional view. This can be from your GP, local mental health services, from Vetlife Health Support or other agencies.
