Review: Burnout and its relationship to empathy in nursing: A review of the literature

Compassion in nursing has developed a high profile in recent years following several reports about poor care in England and a lack of compassion, but there is much less discussion about empathy, which is a related, but different, concept. The authors of the reviewed study suggest that empathic interactions are a necessary prerequisite for compassion, but that this emotional engagement can, for some nurses, lead to burnout and a subsequent inability to provide compassionate care. They argue for a better understanding of the relationship between empathy and burnout, thus providing the rationale for this paper.