“In medical school and nursing school, we’re not taught well at all how to deal with the difficult and sad things that we see,” Kristen Choi, PhD, RN, a nurse and trauma researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, told NPR. “We’re really socialized to just shove it down, to not talk about it and to not be vulnerable.”
Dr. Choi is leading a study on the mental health of clinicians who cared for the victims of 12 mass violence incidents. The researchers are interviewing physicians and nurses on how they cope with memories of those experiences.
Researchers call the psychological consequences of caring for trauma victims “secondary traumatic stress” or “vicarious trauma.” The stress or trauma can appear like post-traumatic stress disorder: nightmares, intrusive memories, and what Dr. Choi calls “trauma distortion,” or when normal events trigger thoughts of violence or abuse.
It is challenging to know what might be most helpful for clinicians dealing with this stress since research on secondary trauma is limited, Dr. Choi said. But one thing’s for sure, she said: “It starts with a culture change in our work environment, making space for clinicians to express these things and be heard.”
Expanding access to affordable mental healthcare services and team debriefing after difficult cases are workplace activities hospitals can use to help physicians and nurses who may experience secondary traumatic stress, according to Dr. Choi. “There’s only so much we can do in terms of self-care at an individual level,” she said.
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