Compassion, conviction, commitment

Abstract

Burnout in hospice personnel may result in a significantly impaired quality of care. A search of the literature has been corn-bined with the results of clinical observations to identify a number of factors conducive to the development of burnout. It is suggested that consideration be given to examining the concepts of compassion, conviction, and commitment, and that appropriate interventions be implemented to prevent these requisites for quality caregiving from paradoxically becoming key contributors to burnout.