Staff Care in the Midst of Traumatic Events

Abstract

Traumatic events bring upheaval and uncertainty. Yet not all difficult or jarring events are experienced as distressing, “traumatic,” or morally injurious by those present, the latter of which in military contexts involves an experience that violates one’s moral code or betrayal by once-trusted sources. Trauma has a certain subjective quality to it, as we learn from military personnel who may witness the same event and interpret or internalize it differently. Exposure to a potentially injurious event does not necessarily lead to post-traumatic stress or moral injury for all who witness the event.

So, how do we define a traumatic event for the purposes of this eBook? Trauma overwhelms a person’s capacity to make meaning. Healthcare staff may experience traumatic events that tax their ability to respond, such as when a situation overwhelms their capabilities or when the details of an event intersect with current or past experiences, amplifying a common event to a traumatic level.

The chaplain writers of this eBook chose a compilation of vignettes that incorporate multiple types of traumatic events. Some of these encounters are with individual staff members, while others occurred in staff groups. Some of these events are personal and individual, like a particularly jarring patient encounter, or intersection of personal story with professional experience; other events represent societal trauma such as experiences of racism, COVID-19, or attempts to disrupt activities of the federal government. Each traumatic event includes a particular chaplain’s approach to staff care, recognizing the contextual features of the encounter. Some vignettes are compilations, and details have been changed to protect privacy.

A certified educator once described staff as the primary congregation the healthcare chaplain serves; in this metaphor, patients and families are visitors to the congregation. Though the specific words used for “staff” vary by setting (healthcare workers, team members, care partners, care receivers, professional caregivers, front line workers, employees, and so on), those who work and serve alongside chaplains are the metaphorical “regulars.” These co-laborers clean rooms, prep supplies, sterilize equipment, prepare food, compound medications, administer breathing treatments, process labs, perform surgeries, and manage conditions; each does their part to contribute to patients’ healing.

With staff being integral to the flow and function of the setting, chaplains have a meaningful role in providing care to professional caregivers. Each vignette includes structural similarities: background about the encounter, the chaplain’s assessment (or, at times, the recipient’s self-assessment), chaplain-provided support or intervention, outcome or staff response, and the chaplain’s reflection or concluding thought. Recognizing a single setting has limitations and that no resource is exhaustive, the chaplain writers anticipate readers will adapt and modify these approaches to the benefit of other settings.