Finding Resilience

Published: Fri, 01/16/15

Hello ,

Stressed on the job? At home? Follow the lead of Clare Brooks, a nurse who organized a retreat day for herself and fellow workers. After eighteen months of stressful transition at the hospital, she realized nurses couldn't wait for someone else to recognize they're energy was depleted. They'd have to refuel their tanks themselves.

Finding Resilience

Emergency room nurses at Seattle Children's Hospital must be ready at any moment to care for a critically ill or injured child. They must understand and follow complex protocols and make split second decisions. The nurses deal with anxious family members and often work long hours without a break.

This week, I was lucky enough to sit in on a retreat, where ER nurses had opportunity to reflect on how they can foster resilience as they deal with the forces that come with the job.

My part in the day was to share the inspiring story of the American WWII nurses who survived combat and Japanese prison camp. Their nursing vocation was important in giving them a purpose. It helped sustain them day after day as they suffered hunger and disease.

And I spoke about the importance of identity. The nurses were strengthened by their identity as U.S. military women. We have the opportunity to dig deeper for our identity, to some core or passion within in us that doesn’t not come from an outside label. Labels fall away, or can be torn away. Our outer identity often depends on a job we do or a role we play. These can change over time, or in an instant.

To be resilient we need to pin our self worth on something that nothing can take away from us.

Are You Trauma-Informed?

One thing I learned along with the nurses, was the importance of being "trauma-informed", which means in essence being aware that any person we meet might have experienced traumatic circumstances which we know nothing about.

An example given was a mother who brought her feverish baby in to the ER and seemed to be over-reacting to her condition. Most of us know that a fever can be safely and quickly brought down, but this mother was an immigrant from a third world country, where a fever is life-threatening. A trauma-informed nurse would not be impatient with a mother's concerns, but try to gain understanding.

We don't have to work in the medical field to be trauma-informed. Everyone we meet has a story. Trauma can be any experience that causes intense physical or psychological stress reactions. It can be a single event, multiple events, or a set of circumstances that are emotionally or physically harmful or threatening. Trauma has lasting effects on our well-being. Trauma is part of the human condition. The question I’ve been thinking about: Can I cut people more slack? How would that look? What do you think?

Thank you for reading! I know you time is valuable and I appreciate you spending a few minutes with me today. I am always happy to hear your thoughts

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