"Fatigue" turned out to be the perfect word for what many people were beginning to feel after a few years of hyperconnectivity, information overload and always-on living.

Remember the oxygen mask and get your needs taken care of first. Take exquisite care of yourself as the foundation for taking care of others. This is the only way you can be emotionally available for your patients and your family and avoid even deeper levels of burnout.

To a doctor, the death (and even impending death) of a patient represents the ultimate professional failure. The problem is that by trying so hard to extend life, doctors can miss the opportunity to be present, compassionately, as their patients make the last, final transition.

My hope is that the G.R.A.C.E. model will help you to actualize compassion in your own life and that the impact of this will ripple out to benefit the people with whom you interact each day as well as countless others.

Numerous studies have shown that an average of 1 in 3 practicing physicians is suffering from symptomatic burnout on any given office day, worldwide, regardless of specialty.

Being a doctor is stressful. Continuously caring and being empathetic is an impossible expectation. When doctors are under stress the first thing that goes is the ability to listen and care. Unfortunately, these are also the two most important things to you as the patient.

Although the term "compassion fatigue" is well-known, some psychologists are starting to argue that the term should be changed to "empathy fatigue."

Have you ever heard of compassion fatigue? When I heard a group of social workers talking about this condition I was fascinated by the phrase alone.

It's good to see public discussion about posttraumatic stress and concern for the health and welfare of our troops. But I don't think the events at Fort Hood had anything to do with posttraumatic stress.