Stress in Doctors and Nurses

Dr. Murray Brennan: Stress is a real issue for physicians and nurses who look after any patient with cancer. But wthout stress then there are very few rewards. Stress in itself sometimes is its own reward. If you are willing to take on the difficult case, you will be expected to be under some stress, to have some real empathy, to be hurt by the pain of the patient you see. What we have to avoid, of course, is that that doesn't translate into burnout, where there's just not enough left for the physician or nurse to give to the patient what is necessary. So it's not about the stress, it's about how we cope with the realistic difficulties of being everything you want to be for that particular patient.

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