By Dr. Aaron Snyder // Compassion is the reason most of us entered caregiving and helping professions. And underneath all the disappointment, cynicism and bureaucracy we may face at work, in our hearts we long to return to our original inspiration for serving others as we do. Generally, we all enjoy sharing connections with those around us, and would rather be compassionate given a situation where our own well being is not threatened. Further, compassion feels profoundly good and we know that it enhances our usefulness. Still, work in healthcare involves extreme demands, and we don’t want to die or go crazy from the stress. Nevertheless, we feel for our patients and aspire to be dependable, sympathetic, allies. We aspire to give them what they need, even though sometimes it is beyond what we—or anyone else—can necessarily provide. Ideally, we would always think of others first and allow our genuine compassion to guide our interactions with the people we work with and care for—despite outside factors. In the midst of tumult, we could pause for …