Social work is a helping profession that strives to help the community at the micro, medium, and macro levels. It is an investment of self to offer services and help to those who need it. Areas of service may include, but are not limited to, traumatic situations, family situations, and child protection. As with most social service professions, the field of social work can often put a strain on a social worker's emotional and physical stability. A side effect of working in a helping profession is compassion fatigue. Accordingly, the National Association of Social Workers emphasizes the importance of self-care and its vitality in ensuring that the social worker does not become burnt out from the profession. Self-care is a very important resource in the social work profession. The physical and emotional demands of the social work profession and the daily giving of self to clients can take a toll on a social worker. Self-care in social work is a significant topic because according to the 2010 census from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 650,500 social workers are currently employed in the United States and of these, 31% work with mental health while 20% works with children (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). Working in those areas of the social care system can cause a higher rate of compassion fatigue than other areas due to the serious situations faced and the knowledge that sometimes patients don't get better. Compassion fatigue is defined by some as “the reduced ability to be empathetic, to tolerate client suffering, and to experience emotions that arise from knowledge of a traumatic event suffered by a person” (Figley, 1995, p. 7). Compassion fatigue can cause some challenges for a professional social worker....... middle of paper ...... Compassion fatigue and helps me avoid any ethical issues in my practice. ReferencesBureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 edition, Social Workers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social -workers.htm (accessed 9 December 2013).Figley CR. Compassion fatigue as secondary traumatic stress disorder: An overview. In: Figley CR, editor. Compassion fatigue: Addressing secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. Brunner-Routledge; New York: 1995. pp. 1–20. Ginter, C. (n.d.). Compassion: opportunities and challenges. Compassion fatigue. Retrieved December 9, 2013, from http://www.compassionfatigue.org/pages/solutionsource.pdf NASW Assembly of Delegates, National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (Silver Spring, MD: NASW, 2008).