Compassion fatigue

6 Minute English

语言学习

2021-05-27

6 分钟
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  • Hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English, I'm Rob.

  • And I'm Sam.

  • As awful as the coronavirus pandemic has been, it's also highlighted the compassionate side,

  • a human nature, doctors and nurses helping the sick.

  • Yes, and people helping out elderly relatives and neighbours raising money for charity or wearing a face mask to keep others safe.

  • But the pandemic has also highlighted a more worrying issue called Compassion Fatigue.

  • Have you heard of that, Sam?

  • Yes, I think Compassion Fatigue is a kind of emotional exhaustion which reduces your ability to empathise or feel compassion for others.

  • Yes, exactly, Sam.

  • Compassion Fatigue has long been a problem for people working in medical professions and it's the topic of this program.

  • We'll be hearing how the suffering and unhappiness we see on the TV news can increase feelings of helplessness.

  • But first, let me ask you my quiz question, Sam.

  • Humanitarian workers see human suffering on a daily basis and can easily fall victim to passion fatigue.

  • Founded in 1971, medicine song frontier is one of the biggest humanitarian organisations.

  • But what does medicine song frontier mean?

  • Is it A, medicine to the front line, B, doctors without borders or C, medicine first?

  • Hmm, I remember newspaper calling it MSF and using its English name which I think was B,

  • doctors without borders.