Traumatic Stress in Healthcare Environments

Fear. Anger. Guilt. Shame.
These are emotions individuals might feel after having a traumatic experience as a healthcare professional. Healthcare workers know they’ll be exposed to human suffering and care for people at some of the worst and most vulnerable moments in their life. But there are some experiences that are more than a “bad day.” How can healing professionals process these experiences so that they don’t add to moral distress and burnout? In this episode, co-host Amy Pearlman and Paul Deger candidly share their own stories of traumatic experiences while delivering healthcare, their immediate reactions, the after effects, how they think about these experiences now, and what healthcare professionals can do to support themselves and their colleagues when these incidents happen.
Content notice: This episode includes descriptions of physical aggression in the healthcare environment.
Our Hosts:
Amy Pearlman, MSW, LICSW
Amy Pearlman is a quintessential social worker with a strong desire to improve healthcare outcomes. She believes that the best way to support the largest number of people is through engaging the community of providers and allies. She has transitioned between provider and payer settings over the course of her career to develop her clinical skills and maximize her empathy of provider experience, with the mission of aligning perspectives around a shared focus and goal to improve healthcare for individuals and families. Her clinical expertise is in crisis intervention, community based care, and clinical program design. Amy believes that healthcare is strongly tied to the health of care providers and is proud to support the healthcare system in this way.
Paul Deger, MA, LPC, PT
Paul Deger is a mindfulness-based intervention specialist. He has been in the healthcare delivery world for 35 years - first as a physical therapist, then as a licensed professional counselor. Paul has worked in a broad range of healthcare environments - inpatient, outpatient, ER and home-based. He also has served as a trainer for health care providers - covering clinical and self-care topics. Paul has seen - and experienced provider burnout - and has found sustainable ways forward. A life-long learner, he seeks out ways to exemplify being human and professional, accessing head and heart, balancing self-care and caring for others. To learn more about Paul, click here (mindfulnesstrainer.com/) .
The Burnout Antidote is a co-production from Psych Hub and is brought to you by Janssen Neuroscience.
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