Compassion is defined as “sympathetic awareness of another's distress along with a desire to alleviate it” (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 2019). To elaborate, compassion is a complex and abstract idea that is described as an emotional response to another individual's vulnerability and suffering. This response, in turn, motivates an individual to strive for the best outcome for those in need (Lee, Daugherty, Eskierka, & Hamelin, 2019). Although compassion is a critical characteristic for providing high-quality patient care, nurses are often exposed to many workplace stressors caused by institutional challenges that can lead to negative outcomes for nursing professionals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In response to the workplace stressors that nurses face in hospital settings, many have developed ineffective coping mechanisms demonstrated by detachment and relational distancing while others have fallen victim to compassion fatigue and burnout (Lee , Daugherty, Eskierka, & Hamelin, 2019). Compassion fatigue occurs when nurses unknowingly internalize their patients' anxiety, trauma, and distress, further leading to nurse burnout. Burnout can be described as a prolonged response to physical and emotional stressors that result in feelings of exhaustion, overwhelm, insecurity, anxiety, cynicism, and inefficiency (Henry, 2014). Symptoms of burnout for nurses include irritability, frequent sick calls, intolerance of change, physical exhaustion, and being mentally “checked out” (Nursing.org, 2019). Compassion fatigue and burnout can be caused by overall negative hospital work environments. Three major factors that contribute to an unhealthy workplace are bullying and lateral violence, understaffing, long working hours, and ongoing exposure to illness and death. Consequences, as a result of the three contributions, include nurses leaving the profession, decreased patient satisfaction, decreased positive patient outcomes, medical errors, depression, and suicide. The number one factor contributing to nursing compassion fatigue and burnout is bullying and lateral violence. Lateral violence is explained as a situation of abuse or disrespect between individuals who are on the same level. Some examples of lateral violence include nurses being disrespectful to each other, experienced nurses not offering to assist other nurses, and new graduate nurses being ignored. Bullying is described as an abusive situation in which the perpetrator is at a higher level than the victim. Examples of bullying include managers who are openly disrespectful in front of colleagues, nurses who are inappropriately singled out in meetings, nurses who are consistently assigned the most difficult patients or who are moved to other floors more than other nurses, and being laughed at regarding ADN vs. BSN degree (Gillespie, Grubb, Brown, Boesch, & Ulrich, 2017). Many consequences arise from lateral violence and bullying in the healthcare workplace. These include nurses who leave their jobs, change careers, and experience depression and anxiety that can lead to suicide. Around 60% of new nurses leave their first position within six months due to some form of verbal abuse or harsh treatment from a colleague, while 32% of., 2008).