The Cost of Caring

Rutgers expert explains how health care workers can be affected by empathy and compassion. Compassion fatigue is just one of many consequences of working through the pandemic as a health care worker, according to Shari Munch, an associate professor at Rutgers School of Social Work. “Dealing with constant suffering and trauma, on top of the double-edged sword of empathy and compassion, the cost of caring can manifest itself in undue stress for anyone working within a health care setting,” she said. Munch, who researches clinical social work practice in health care, describes the cost of caring and how we can help affected health care professionals. To read the full story.