It is midnight. Silence reigns in the hospital corridors. The only sound is the footsteps of the nurse on duty. She carefully opens the door of each ward and checks on the patients. Someone has a fever, someone cannot sleep, while another is struggling with pain. The nurse approaches each of them with equal attention, warmth and compassion.

Yes, illness exhausts not only the human body but also the spirit. At such moments, alongside medication, kind words and sincere care can also become a source of healing. That is why nursing cannot be considered an ordinary profession. In a single day, a nurse communicates with dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of patients. She listens to their concerns, answers their questions and carries out medical procedures on time. While the doctor determines the treatment strategy, the nurse becomes the patient's closest companion throughout the treatment process.

However, a person who gives encouragement and support to others may also need care and warmth herself. Night shifts, emergency situations, seriously ill patients, and the suffering of patients and their loved ones all test not only a nurse's physical strength but also her emotional resilience. Constantly carrying the pain of others in one's heart and experiencing their fears and anxieties as one's own can, over time, lead to empathy fatigue.

Empathy is the ability to understand another person's feelings, empathize with their condition and sense their emotional experiences. For healthcare professionals, this is a very important quality. A patient needs not only medical treatment but also someone who understands and supports them. However, empathy itself requires boundaries and balance. Understanding a patient's suffering does not mean taking the entire burden of that suffering upon oneself.

Empathy fatigue gradually wears a person down. What initially seems like ordinary tiredness may later manifest as emotional distress, a loss of interest in work, a desire to avoid communication with others, impatience, indifference, or a constant feeling of being under emotional pressure. However, such a condition should not be interpreted as a lack of dedication to one's profession or a loss of compassion. On the contrary, it may indicate that a person has been working under a very heavy emotional burden for a long time.

Therefore, alongside the expectation that a nurse should “think about the patient,” there should also be a message that says, “Take care of yourself, too.” A nurse tells a patient, “Take care of yourself.” But these words should also be said to the nurse herself more often. Getting enough rest, having quality sleep, eating properly, allowing time for emotional recovery outside of work, and maintaining healthy boundaries between professional and personal life are important factors in preventing empathy fatigue. Openly discussing difficult experiences with colleagues, talking to someone you trust, and seeking psychological support when necessary are not signs of weakness. On the contrary, they demonstrate a responsible attitude toward one's profession, health and the people around them.

However, the issue should not be limited to the nurse's personal efforts alone. Preventing empathy fatigue is also an important responsibility of healthcare institutions. When a professional who cares for patients does not receive support themselves, their emotional and physical resources can eventually become depleted.

For this reason, healthcare institutions should pay greater attention to the emotional well-being of nurses, provide them with regular support, create a healthy psychological environment within the team, listen to employees' opinions and needs, reduce excessive emotional pressure, and provide appropriate conditions for rest and recovery. It is particularly important to strengthen psychological support mechanisms for nurses who work continuously with critically ill patients and those working in emotionally demanding fields such as intensive care, oncology, emergency medical care and palliative care. Group discussions, psychological counselling, stress-management training and professional support groups can help strengthen nurses' emotional resilience.
Because in healthcare, “being strong” does not always mean hiding one's emotions. Sometimes strength means acknowledging that you are tired, asking for help, taking a moment to pause and catch your breath, and then returning to your profession with renewed energy.
At our centre, we strive not only to improve the knowledge and professional qualifications of nurses but also to provide them with emotional and moral support. When we hold round-table discussions on professional ethics and deontology in healthcare institutions, we always include recommendations on preventing empathy fatigue. In this regard, I would also like to emphasize that trade unions attach particular importance to the work of nurses. Competitions organized for them, trips and excursions, as well as sports events, play an important role in helping nurses and other mid-level healthcare professionals perform their duties with enthusiasm and a strong sense of responsibility. After all, caring for a nurse means caring for the patient. Protecting a nurse's emotional well-being means protecting the quality of healthcare. Therefore, recognizing empathy fatigue in a timely manner, preventing it and providing nurses with comprehensive support are essential conditions for creating a healthy healthcare environment and a humane healthcare system.

Yulduz SAPAYEVA,
Lecturer at the Urgench Branch of the Centre for Professional Development of Mid-Level Medical and Pharmaceutical Workers