1. Take personal inventory
Because your staff will be looking to you for strong leadership during
this time, honestly assess your ability to serve as a therapeutic listener
and go-to person for your OR team. How do you feel about the stigma
surrounding depression, anxiety and PTSD? Are you prepared to lis-
ten to the firsthand, individual stories of your nurses?
If you feel overwhelmed by the prospect of serving as the point per-
son or realize that you have biases toward mental health issues, that's
okay. It's much better to realize these feelings than to ignore or deny
them. What you can do is become an informed referral agent. A full
appreciation of what your organization can offer to those who are
struggling, such as employee assistance programs, and helping them
connect with those services, will demonstrate compassion. Also con-
sider forming support groups. These in-house or social media spaces
may help staff receive support from others who endured similar trau-
matic experiences.
2. Start with empathy
Create a safe psychological space for all returning workers by estab-
lishing a strong culture that promotes safety, empowerment and heal-
ing. Mental health is rarely emphasized for healthcare workers who
often suffer from burnout and compassion fatigue. If someone on
your staff is struggling, listen with a tone of openness and acceptance
instead of blame. Start the conversation with What's happened to
you? instead of What's wrong with you?
3. Understand residual effects
Mental trauma doesn't follow a neat timeline. That's why it's so criti-
cal to view everything through a trauma-informed lens and under-
stand that stimuli in the work environment can trigger flashbacks to
Staffing
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