Report Animal Concerns

Compassion Awareness Project

The Compassion Awareness Project is a Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) led initiative to address the issue of compassion fatigue that may result from working with animals in research, including subsequent mental and physical health issues and job-related concerns.

The scientific and medical knowledge developed through animal research has saved countless lives and improved the health outcomes for both humans and animals.

However, the ethical cost of using animals in research can cause emotional distress in the people caring for, or performing, research with those animals. This is especially true when strong bonds are formed between humans and research animals, or if performing humane euthanasia is part of an individual’s occupational or research duties.

It is important to acknowledge that these feelings and emotions, commonly referred to as “compassion fatigue,” are legitimate and appropriate responses to the work you do with animals. When expressed through the proper channels, these feelings can actually be used to enhance and support the research environment you create for both your colleagues and the animals under your care.

Using a multifaceted approach to engage and educate members of the U-M research community, the goal of ULAM’s Compassion Awareness Project (CAP) is to reduce compassion fatigue and improve job satisfaction.

Not Sure Where to Start?

Read the Cost of Caring Brochure published by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS)

Download the Brochure

Everyone in the U-M animal research community is welcome to participate in CAP events

Events typically follow a variety of formats:

  • Seminars featuring self-care strategies to improve resilience,
  • Lunch & Learns connecting staff to the life-changing research being done at U-M,
  • Enrichment crafting where enrichment is made for a variety of species,
  • And much more!

If you are struggling with compassion fatigue, there are resources that can help:

The U-M provides mental wellness programs and counseling services, FREE OF CHARGE, to all faculty, staff, and students. These resources can be found at the university’s Well-Being Collective website.

Contact information for counseling services includes:

Compassion Fatigue FAQs

Compassion fatigue is associated with changes in sleep patterns, decreased cognitive ability, changes in behavior, and impaired judgment. It can contribute to loss of morale, depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), lowered self-worth, difficulty controlling emotions, feelings of hopelessness, and/or anger.

Compassion fatigue contributes to high staff turnover, absenteeism, decreased morale, reduced job performance, and/or an uncaring or callous attitude toward animals.

It’s important to remember that the journey of self-care is a very personal one, and what works for someone else may not work for you. The following resources may be of interest.

Websites

Podcasts

Books & Journals

  • To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior. Jennifer Blough, LLPC 
  • The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive. Dr. Kristen Neff and Dr. Christopher Germer
  • Radical Acceptance. Dr. Tara Branch
  • The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. Gretchen Rubin
  • The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative. Florence Williams
  • The Self-Care Project. Jayne Hardy
  • When Helping Hurts: Compassion Fatigue in the Veterinary Profession. Kathleen Ayl, PsyD
  • The American Veterinary Medical Association’s Well-being Collection: a collection of articles on workplace well-being in animal care and veterinary workers, originally published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Journal of Veterinary Research

The Compassion Fatigue Committee was started in 2016 by Kaile Bennett, BS, RLATg, CLABP, and Marian Esvelt, DVM, DACLAM, to address the growing concern of compassion fatigue among laboratory animal care staff.

The project was renamed the U-M Compassion Awareness Project (CAP) in 2018 and came under the current leadership of ULAM Animal Enrichment Coordinator Jenny Jones, BS, RLAT, CLABP, Certified Compassion Fatigue Educator, with Dr. Patrick Lester serving as the Faculty Advisor.

In 2019, the group received an Educational Grant from the Michigan Animal Health Foundation to help promote their compassion awareness initiatives and advance their future compassion fatigue directives.

ULAM’s Compassion Awareness Project (CAP) and associated staff have presented, and been featured at, multiple laboratory animal science conferences and events, including:

  • Ongoing
  • 2024
    • Presentation: Emerging Issues for the Guide: Compassion Fatigue, Martin TL & Lester PA. Presented at the workshop “Future Topical Updates to The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Standing Committee for the Care and Use of Animals in Research, 04/2024, Virtual Meeting (Zoom).
    • Publication: Young L, Ferrara F, Kelly L, Martin T, Thompson-Iritani S, LaFollette MR. Professional Quality of Life in Animal Research Personnel is Linked to Retention & Job Satisfaction: A Mixed-Methods Cross-Sectional Survey on Compassion Fatigue in the USA. PLoS One. 19(4):e0298744, 01/2024. PM38626016.
  • 2023
    • Presentation: Compassion Fatigue in Veterinary Professionals, Martin TL & Lester PA. Michigan Veterinary Conference (MiVetCon), September 30,2023, Grand Rapids, MI.
  • 2021
    • District 5 American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) Meeting
    • Poster: Thurston SE, Chan G, Burlingame LA, Jones J, Lester PA, Martin TL. Evaluation of compassion fatigue in laboratory animal personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. AALAS National Meeting, Kansas City, MO, 2021.
    • Publication: Thurston SE, Chan G, Burlingame LA, Jones JA, Lester PA, Martin TL. Compassion Fatigue in Laboratory Animal Personnel During the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 60(6): 646 – 654, 11/2021. PM34711300.
  • 2020
    • Presentation: Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research (PRIM&R) IACUC Virtual Conference, “Compassion Fatigue: Beyond Sharing Your Pain.”
  • 2019
    • National AALAS Meeting, “To the Elevator and Beyond: Improving Work-related Conversations with Family and Friends as a Tool to Reduce Compassion Fatigue.”
  • 2018 
    • Presentation: Engaging through Enrichment: How the Animal Enrichment Committee Works to Combat Compassion Fatigue. Jones J. Lab Roots Laboratory Animal Science Virtual Event, 2018. Virtual (view the archived webinar).

Please consider reaching out to us if you would like more information about the Compassion Awareness Project, or if you think you may be struggling with compassion fatigue; we are here to help.

Questions?

Contact us at [email protected] for additional information regarding strategies to prevent and mitigate compassion fatigue, or if you are interested in having us come and talk to your research group.

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