Sammy Batt-Rawden

Those who choose to train in a healthcare profession have a higher baseline empathy than the general population. Significantly so. So why does this empathy take a nosedive so early on in their careers? And why does it never recover? Sammy Batt-Rawden explores this dilemma through the frame of moral injury – a military term likened to ‘death by a thousand cuts’.

The empathy switch

Those who choose to train in a healthcare profession have a higher baseline empathy than the general population. Significantly so. So why does this empathy take a nosedive so early on in their careers? And why does it never recover? Sammy Batt-Rawden explores this dilemma through the frame of moral injury – a military term likened to ‘death by a thousand cuts’. One or two traumas may be able to be overcome. But repeated over time will chip away at morale, leading to deep guilt and shame and a decline in empathy. So how do we address this? What are the coping strategies? And how do we look after our healthcare workers struggling from burn-out?