Healing the Caregiver

Abstract

When treating seriously ill patients, those working in the healing professions may be particularly vulnerable to their own stress symptoms. Left unattended, these professionals may go down the dark road leading to burnout, with impaired effectiveness as caregivers, diseases rooted in stress, as well as increased suicides, drug and alcohol addiction, and exacerbation of personality disorders. Early intervention may help reduce the associated problems. In this paper, we present an elementary debriefing system, a psychotherapeutic approach, to be used by the affected individual. While this methodology may be far more simplistic than those utilized in different schools of healing or caregiving, its appeal is its simplicity and practicality. We are proposing that the individual caregiver systematically consider the following: the Background of the situation; how it Affects thinking and feeling; the Troublesome element(s); how one is Handling element(s); and an Empathetic/empowering conclusion (BATHE). Ideally, these considerations may help alleviate caregivers' anguish in troublesome situations and may complement their awareness of their patients' suffering as well.

Síndrome de desgaste profesional en el personal asistencial pediátrico

“…Entre las posibles estrategias de prevención, se han destacado el soporte asistencial para profesionales enfermos, la formación continuada (tanto en competencia clínica como en técnicas de autocontrol emocional) y la racionalización de las condiciones laborales. Todo ello podría resumirse en el autocuidado del personal sanitario, con los objetivos de: trabajar con calidad, no renunciar a sentirse un profesional competente y preservar la salud mental del personal que atiende a pacientes 1,2,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] . En definitiva, la búsqueda de la mejor asistencia a los pacientes no sólo debería basarse en medidas económicas, técnicas o administrativas, sino que también debería tener en cuenta al factor humano, ya que influye directamente en el "arte de la medicina" necesario para que los enfermos reciban los cuidados más apropiados en cantidad y calidad.…”

Role Modeling at the Bedside

“…I proceeded to debrief the house officers using a previously described algorithm. 2,3 An intern began to present the prior case since she had been the primary house officer. As we proceeded in the debriefing process, first with the background, followed by the thoughts, then the feelings experienced, the presenter was visibly upset.…”