The empathy switch | Sammy Batt-Rawden | TEDxNHS

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? Sammy is a Registrar in emergency and intensive care medicine, a doctor with the Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex and the current chair of The Doctors' Association; Sammy is a fierce advocate for doctors and the NHS. Following the premature birth of her son Joshua and a turbulent 3-month stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, she now has a new appreciation of the NHS. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx