Burnout is the catchall term that nurses usually associate with all of these conditions, but it has specific symptoms of its own. merely because you are struggling does not mean you are burnt out. the primary symptom of burnout is dissatisfaction with the way things are done.. Purpose. the purpose of this review is to evaluate the literature related to emotional distress among healthcare professionals in the icu, with an emphasis on the prevalence of burnout and compassion fatigue and the available preventive strategies.. The main object of this research is to explore burnout and compassion fatigue in new zealand nurses searching for an integrative model of professional factors, work-related empowerment, and individual factors such as psychological hardiness..