“I’m so burnt out.” This phrase is ingrained in the American lexicon. It might be something you say after a long day or a particularly challenging week meeting with clients or managing a child welfare caseload. But how do you know if it’s something more? Do you think you’d be able to recognize the warning signs of burnout in yourself? What about in a coworker or colleague?  Now that you have analyzed the similarities and differences among vicarious trauma, burnout, and compassion fatigue, you can apply this knowledge to real-life scenarios that you may one day face in your own social work practice. In this Assignment, you select a case study and use several assessment tools to categorize what the social worker is experiencing. To prepare:

• Access and navigate through the Case Studies interactive media in the Learning Resources. Read all three cases, and then select one to use for this Assignment and throughout the remainder of the course.
• Review the Learning Resources on the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, SUD Scale, and Self-Compassion Scale. Complete these scales from the perspective of the social worker in your identified case.
• Analyze the case you have chosen, considering the risk and protective factors, the categorization of what the social worker is experiencing (e.g., vicarious trauma, burnout, etc.), and the responses on each of the three scales.

Submit a 2- to 3-page paper in which you:  

• Briefly describe the case you have chosen.
• Categorize the social worker’s experience as vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, or burnout. Provide justification.
• Identify the social worker’s score on each of the three scales and provide justification for your assessment.
• Describe risk and protective factors involved in the case.  

Use the Learning Resources to support your Assignment. Make sure to provide APA citations and a reference list.