Mechanisms of Support

Abstract

Employment in a children's hospital of a major medical center can be stressful for healthcare providers, especially when faced with potential losses of pediatric and adolescent patients. Although it seems natural to believe that emotional distress following the death of a patient would be addressed, this is not always the case. The current manuscript presents results of a survey of healthcare providers at Shands Children's Hospital at the University of Florida, a not for profit teaching hospital. Hospital staff (N=94) responded to the survey with a 100% return rate. Responses identified situations considered to be stressful, and described how healthcare providers in this setting dealt with these incidents. Regarding existing hospital resources, respondents reported using multidisciplinary patient care conferences, social workers, and co-workers most often, as sources of support. Respondents also provided a lengthy listing of recommendations for improvement. Addressing the issues presented in this study may result in improved employee retention and lower overall turnover rates.

When Nurses Become Patients. Validation of the Content of the Diagnostic Label Professional Traumatic Grief

“…These professionals are not exempt from the emotional influence of death, going through a grieving process themselves and a variety of emotions and feelings that can affect their health. The healthcare professional is capable of feeling pain and suffering, to a greater or lesser extent, when a patient dies [6]. Facing the death of a patient, which can sometimes be considered as something unnatural and incomprehensible, has an impact on the professional's biopsychosocial state and work performance [7,8].…”