NARRATOR: Welcome to "Who, Me?
How do I know if I have Compassion Fatigue
and Secondary Traumatic Stress?"
This webinar is part of a series of modules sponsored by
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Office of the Assistant Secretary
for Preparedness and Response,
or ASPR's Technical Resources, Assistance Center,
and Information Exchange, or TRACIE.
ASPR TRACIE works closely with healthcare facilities,
coalitions, ASPR Recovery staff,
and HPP partners across the country
and has repeatedly heard from disaster affected communities
that disaster behavioral health recovery
has been challenging for the healthcare providers
involved in recent natural disasters and no-notice events.
Each of the modules we've developed includes a preview
and a longer webinar.
The three topics are:
1. Addressing Compassion Fatigue and Behavioral Health Needs
for Healthcare Providers,
2. Organizational Behavioral Health and Wellness
for Executive Level Healthcare Facility Staff, and
3. Healthcare Provider
Cognitive Strengthening Preparedness Program
Have you ever felt totally exhausted
and overwhelmed at work,
like there is nothing you can do
to make the situation better?
Or maybe one of your colleagues is jumpy
and extremely worried that something bad
is going to happen?
Both of you may have been negatively affected
by traumatic stress --
you sound like you might have compassion fatigue
and your colleague, well,
he might have secondary traumatic stress.
At ASPR TRACIE, we know that healthcare professionals
tend to be a highly self-reliant group,
that is, you see yourselves as the helpers,
and not as the people who would need assistance from others,
either in assessing your needs
or in delivering support services.
And the stigma around any behavioral health concern
is as active in health related disciplines
as it is in the general public.
Most people do not see themselves
in need of mental health supports even when working
in the intensely stressful environment of trauma services.
Also, either because of staffing patterns
or the desire to help others on a very human caring basis
which brought you to the professions to begin with,
most of you in the healthcare professions,
see yourselves as having to 'work 'till it hurts,'
often putting in long hours,
covering staff shortages,
skipping breaks,
working through lunch,
and routinely sacrificing your own comfort and self-care
to ensure the care of others.
You are a group that is very hard on yourselves.
If you are a healthcare professional
who has learned well
and does a good job of taking care of yourself,
I congratulate you.
But you are the not the norm.
Healthcare professionals are also a group
that is skilled in providing specific services
for which you are trained to deliver as an individual,
but also functioning within the team setting.
Thus, your performance
is usually quite visible to your coworkers
and thus, you tend to work a bit harder
at controlling and concealing any distress symptoms
for fear of being seen as weak or providing any basis
for being judged negatively or stigmatized by your peers.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
This module will introduce you
to the concept of traumatic stress.
If you are a healthcare provider in general,
and especially one who provides emergency
or disaster response services,
it is likely that you have been exposed
to many traumatic situations.
These might include treating patients or clients
who are also victims of violent crimes,
or survivors of a fire,
or patients involved in a car crash --
all with serious injuries.
Or perhaps you've had to cope with larger-scale incidents
like a hurricane, flood, or mass shooting incident
where multiple patients, clients and families
require lifesaving efforts all at the same time,
causing intense pressure to perform quickly and continuously
for long periods of time.
In the full webinar,
you'll learn the terms, risk factors,
and symptoms associated with compassion fatigue
and secondary traumatic stress.
We will leave you with the good news and tools
and resources that can keep you healthy and resilient.
There are many resources that can inform you further
about acute stress, posttraumatic stress
and secondary traumatic stress or compassion fatigue.
ASPR TRACIE and SAMHSA DTAC have educational fact sheets,
webinars and podcasts that are free and accessible online.
Some are for survivors, other for helpers,
some for parents and caregivers.
Check them out.
And for those of you who are interested in the research,
the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder,
NCPTSD website,
will bring you to the Pilots database
which is the most comprehensive collection of literature
on these subjects.
These articles are also free and downloadable
once you register.
Access the full training today
to find out how you can preserve your well being
as you continue to work in one of the most stressful
and rewarding disciplines in the world.
Please reach out to us if you need technical assistance
at asprtracie.hhs.org;
or call 1-844-5-TRACIE;
or askasprtracie@hhs.gov.
Produced using taxpayer funding
by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.