Compassion comes naturally to those who work in oncology. Oncology nurse and patient navigators use their compassion to provide patient-centered care, continuously working to overcome barriers and build bridges for their patients. Navigators are so devoted to patient care that they can often forget to take care of themselves, resulting in compassion fatigue or vicarious trauma. We want to relieve the burdens from our patients’ shoulders, but taking on this responsibility can often manifest physically, emotionally, and psychologically, leading to a high burnout rate in the nursing profession.
