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- Title
PTSD AMONG SRT IN CLINICAL PLACEMENT.
- Authors
Leitch, Jordan
- Abstract
Since the onset of COVID-19, many aspects of the health care world have come to light. It's been highlighted how incredibly hard health care professionals work to ensure the best treatment and care of their patients and the lengths they will go to for those in need. On the less positive note, the enlightenment into how poor health care workers mental health can be has also occurred. This issue has long been ignored by the general public, hospital administration and the health care workers themselves. Outside of the pandemic times, very few studies have explored one of the most prominent occupational hazards for health care workers... experiencing trauma. Moral distress, stressful environment, insufficient support are all factors that contribute to the rising statistics of health care workers (HCW) experiencing negative psychological effects, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and secondary traumatic stress. Pre-pandemic, the prevalence of PTSD in both sexes among health care workers was an average of 14.8% (general population is around 4% - 8%) with students and younger workers suffering the brunt of this number. When experiencing the death of a patient, that number jumps to 30%. During the pandemic, this number increases yet again, to a high of 40%. As respiratory therapists, we are often included in the most traumatic of cases. We witness a variety of injuries and illnesses, while attempting to treat in a calm and rational manner. We are taught an incredible amount of information in school; from how to speak with individuals to how to treat the sickest of patients, how to properly cope with what we see on a daily basis and maintain our own mental health, is not expanded upon enough. This is a major void that is negatively impacting the well-being of all RT's in Canada. Focusing on students, exploring methods for preventing mental health crises while in clinical placement will not only benefit the student immediately as they gain their footing in the field, but also in the long term as they establish their careers. This needs to include ways to self-regulate their mental health, methods of self-treatment for when the work environment weighs on them emotionally, and how they can bring these tools into the workplace to help educate and improve the well-being of the staff around them as well. The long overdue discussion on how to help improve the mental health of HCW is just starting, expanding the already existing mental health aspect of the RT curriculum needs to begin as well, to help not just treat the problem, but also prevent it.
- Subjects
CANADA; HEALTH occupations students; POST-traumatic stress disorder; CONFERENCES &; conventions; INTERNSHIP programs; RESPIRATORY therapy; MEDICAL education
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Respiratory Therapy, 2023, Vol 59, p133
- ISSN
1205-9838
- Publication type
Article