The Dalai Lama (2003) said, “For someone to develop genuine compassion towards others, first he or she must have a basis upon which to cultivate compassion, and that basis is the ability to connect to one’s own feelings and to care for one’s own welfare. . . Caring for others requires caring for oneself.” This lesson focuses precisely on this concept.

Please read the following article by the Joint Commission on burnout. While the article focuses on nursing, it mostly is applicable to health professionals more broadly. As you read it, think about the particular strategies for responding to burnout at the systems level (e.g. what you might do within the operational structure of your institution or unit), interpersonal level (e.g. what you might do in response to a colleague who appears to be struggling with burnout), and the intrapersonal level (e.g. how you might respond to your own feelings of burnout).

Read the case study provided by Elllis and Lasic. Reflect on the discussion questions and apply your insights from the Joint Commission reading to how you might respond to the situation described in each case. After reflecting on these questions, read the case discussion section for each case and compare your insights to the ideas and strategies articulated there.

Read the entire article except for the Methods section. (24 minutes)

Read the section under the section "Introduction" on the pages 9-12. (18 minutes)

Resilience is an important aspect of burnout and attempting to mitigate it. This supplemental article focuses specifically on the intersection of two important concept that are highly related in the context of burnout: Resilience and moral distress.