Health Care Professionals
On this page, you will find information and a range of resources created especially to support mental health for health care professionals. You’ll also find actionable tips on building resiliency and well-being, plus ways for families to get involved.
Health care is a demanding, stressful field. From adjusting to unusual hours and extra shifts, to the trauma of losing patients — your job is not easy. Health care professionals are highly trained and accustomed to solving problems, healing others, and managing pressure. Yet no one is immune to the long-term effects of stress and trauma.
Some of the difficult cases you manage can stay with you, while others don’t, and this can sometimes seem illogical. You may also feel anger as a result of the senseless trauma that seems to be occurring with greater frequency. This can make it more difficult to respond to patients with empathy. These are indicators of moral injury, and the conflicting emotions can create added struggle.
You may question why you’re not always bothered by a patient outcome, or whether you’re experiencing a normal reaction to patient cases you respond to. It may help to know that trauma can create a variety of responses. Feelings of distress can be expressed in trouble sleeping, nightmares, feeling irritable, wanting to be alone, sudden emotions, or even physical pain or symptoms.
There are ways to effectively cope with the experiences you face and the emotional responses that health care professionals often feel as a result. You already know that it’s important to take care of yourself physically, and in order to serve safely and effectively. It’s just as important to take care of your mental health.
Caring for others requires that you also care for yourself.
Building Resilience
As a frontline health care professional, you are already accustomed to stress. While every patient case or emergency response may not noticeably affect you, daily stress can accumulate. Resiliency reduces the harmful effects of stress and trauma, acting as a buffer to help you maintain your well-being.
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Confidential and Professional Support
Sometimes it helps just having a peer to listen. Other times, having professional mental health support is essential. You can access these services without concern for your career, and they are staffed with culturally-competent professionals – people who understand your line of work.
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Family Support
Being a family member of a health care professional can be exceptionally challenging. You worry about their health and well-being, as well as how their challenging career impacts your family.
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