Working for all

There's a saying that's often bandied about: ‘Choose a job you love and you'll never work another day in your life’. It's a good saying, because we should all work in something we care about, but in today's world it's a little simplistic. After all, work is about much more than the job we do. Compassion fatigue and burnout are sadly words that are often associated with those in the veterinary professions. Compassion fatigue is recognised as a negative consequence of working in a caregiving profession, such as the veterinary profession, where patients may have experienced trauma and suffering, eliciting a high degree of empathy. Where such experiences are continuous and prolonged, emotional exhaustion and burnout can ensue. If this is not balanced by compassion satisfaction, such emotional stress can take its toll. It doesn't matter how much you love your job, if the environment isn't supportive, then each day can become an impossible chore that can affect every aspect of life.