Caring for the carers (for nurses)

Vicarious traumatisation, also referred to as compassion fatigue, can be experienced when one witnesses or knows about the trauma experienced by significant others.It is well recognised as a phenomenon experienced by a wide range of health professionals. Vicarious traumatisation, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and burnout all sit within a spectrum of processes which can adversely affect staff in a variety of ways.This presentation will describe these constructs and the way experiences of them can affect staff, and briefly describe a variety of protective processes.The role that resilience plays in managing the effects of these stressors will be explored. A link to the suffering that can occur when one experiences disenfranchised grief (the grief felt when the loss is not, or cannot be acknowledged) will be discussed.

Recording from 26.10.17