Application of trauma‐informed care principles in academic nursing settings during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

The persistence of the COVID‐19 pandemic has led to a multitude of changes in the ways nursing education, research, and practice are carried out. In addition to the demands of shifting to remote education as well as finding alternatives to direct patient care learning, nursing faculty and students are directly confronting morbidity and mortality among classmates, colleagues, friends, and family members. These experiences unquestionably meet criteria for traumatic experience, and this must be accounted for in nursing education as they can have detrimental effects on learning, teaching, and well‐being. The current generation of nursing students and faculty will necessarily carry the traumatic experiences of this chaotic time into workplace, classroom, and community settings. Understanding how to manage this trauma appropriately not only supports individuals through this experience but provides increased opportunity and capacity for the provision of trauma‐informed care (TIC) to patients and colleagues going forward. This paper describes some of the ways COVID‐19‐related trauma may affect nursing faculty and students; and proposes application of TIC principles to research, education, and practice environments to enhance well‐being and overall functioning in the profession.

How the COVID‐19 crisis affected the well‐being of nurses working in paediatric critical care: A qualitative study

“…Trauma‐informed care (or practice) aims to reduce the adverse impacts of trauma on the well‐being of healthcare service users and staff (UK Government, 2022). Previous research has suggested employing principles of trauma‐informed care in nursing settings could improve well‐being, job satisfaction and overall functioning of individuals with a nursing background (Amateau et al, 2022; Anderson et al, 2022). A similar initiative which has been adopted in some PCC settings is the creation of Psychologically Informed Environments, defined as an environment which prioritizes the psychological make‐up of a team, its thinking, emotions, personality and past experience (Atkins & Syed‐Sabir, 2022; Keats et al, 2012).…”

Triple-jeopardy! COVID-19, high ACE scores, and the US–Mexico border: Mitigating risks with trauma-informed pedagogy

“…It is critical to consider the compounding effects of past-personal trauma exposure and traumas experienced while in clinical, or potential future trauma exposures experienced by nursing students, as it can have lasting implications on burnout, attrition, and patient safety ( Cieslak et al, 2014 ; Foli & Thompson, 2019 ; Walker, 2021 ). Trauma informed pedagogy allows for the mitigation of traumas through the provision of anticipatory guidance and practical applications for nursing students at all risk levels ( Anderson et al, 2022 ; Gutierrez & Gutierrez, 2019 ).…”