Management of Post-Traumatic and Secondary Traumatic Stress in Healthcare Professionals _ ____________
Self-Assessment Question
Healthcare professionals who work with trauma victims are subject to significant stress and are vulnerable to what is now known as secondary traumatic stress (STS). Secondary trau- matic stress theory forecasts that professionals affected by STS are at a higher risk of making poor professional judgements than those professionals who are not affected. STS is the emotional duress that results when an individual hears about the firsthand trauma experiences of another. It impacts many helping professionals and staff who are indirectly exposed to the graphic details of others’ traumatic experiences (Sprang et al., 2019). It is also dependent on the healthcare professionals’ personal factors, such as years of experience on the job, marital status, and experience with comparable situations.
1. What is not a consequence of workplace burnout? A) Stress. B) Exhaustion. C) Worry. D) Short temper. Healthcare Consideration: Healthcare, as an industry, places numerous pressures on healthcare providers, including the challenges of clinical work, time constraints, competing demands, lack of control over work processes and schedul- ing, and conflicting roles and relationships with leadership. Burnout syndrome is increasingly recognized among health- care professionals, with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimating that burnout may affect 10% to 70% of nurses and 30% to 50% of physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants (Bridgeman et al., 2018). DIFFERENTIATING PTSD AND STS The difference between PTSD and STS is that STS occurs after indirect exposure to threatening events (e.g., hearing patients’ stories, delivering bad news to patients, observing intense emo- tions in others), while PTSD occurs due to a perceived direct threat to an individual. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) pays more attention to the behavioral symptoms that accom- pany PTSD and proposes four distinct diagnostic clusters. They are described as reexperiencing, avoidance, negative cognitions and mood, and arousal. Many types of professionals, such as physicians, psychotherapists, social workers, and emergency workers, are vulnerable to developing this type of stress due to the nature of their work. Agencies and leaders are attempting to understand the effects of STS on staff and how to allevi- ate its impact on employees. Being exposed to traumatic and troubling events, sometimes on a daily basis, influences one’s personal and professional lives (Figley, 2002). Research has consistently shown posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to be associated with impairments in psychological functioning. Specifically, PTSD is associated with impairments in occupational and academic functioning, marital and family functioning, parenting, and friendships and socializing. PTSD is the persistence of traumatic thoughts and memories long after a stressful event has occurred. An employee struggling with PTSD may experience emotional, sensory, and primarily visual memories of the traumatic event that intrude repeatedly into their mind. Meta-analysis estimates show that even before COVID-19, healthcare professionals were twice as likely to develop PTSD compared to the general public (Ramineni et al., 2023). The nature of the trauma exposure facing healthcare professionals is not a single-event trauma; rather, it is repeated and ongoing.
Self-Assessment Question
2. How likely are healthcare professionals to develop traumatic responses when compared to the general public? E) Not at more risk than the general public. F) Twice as likely. G) Three times as likely. H) Everyone struggles with trauma response at times. Healthcare Consideration: Single incident trauma is unexpected and comes out of the
blue. Some examples include: • Severe illness or injury
• Violent assault • Sexual assault • Traumatic loss • Mugging or robbery
Repetitive trauma is trauma that has been repeated over a period of time and is often part of an interpersonal rela- tionship where someone might feel trapped emotionally or physically. It can occur when an individual speaks with someone who has experienced a trauma or witnessed a trauma firsthand. some examples include: • Verbal abuse • Coercion • Domestic physical abuse • Long-term misdiagnosis of a health problem • Bullying at home, at school, or in a work setting Direct Versus Indirect Exposure. PTSD is typically caused by direct exposure to a traumatic event that threatens an indi- vidual’s life, safety, or well-being. It can result from experiences such as physical assault, accidents, or witnessing a traumatic event. On the other hand, STS is a form of stress that arises from indirect exposure to traumatic events experienced by others. Healthcare professionals may develop STS through hearing patients’ stories, delivering bad news, or observing intense emotions in others.
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