Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice

Condition: BRAND NEW ISBN: 9780197547243 Author(s): Robert J. Wicks Format: Paperback Language: English Year: 2021 Edition: 2nd Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc Pages: 224

Description: The mental and physical health of caregivers impacts more than just that individual worker. It affects the health of their patients, it impacts their families, it shapes communities, it influences politics, and it plays into international relations. Medical and nursing professionals working in today's health care settings must be prepared to offer support in dangerous times despite staffing shortages, financial pressures, andcomplex legal requirements. The nature of this work puts these professionals in harm's way not only physically, but at greater risk for secondary stress, trauma, burnout and other emotional impacts exacerbating the needfor self-care.There is no better time to revisit the problem of secondary stress among caregivers than on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. Times of challenge and change test health care professionals' self-care insights, strategy, and reserves. New learnings and ways of maneuvering through difficult professional practice situations and life in general can become permanent elements in our self-care cache. This book will enrich the reader's insights and strategies withrespect to secondary stress leading to enhanced resilience of mind, body and spirit. This second edition draws on content in the first edition and information from classic literature and researchfindings about the phenomenon of secondary stress experienced by nurses, physicians and physician assistants. This book highlights the importance of interprofessional communication and support in ameliorating the stressors of clinical work, an effort enhanced by interdisciplinary co-authorship. Educators and front line clinicians have come to the realization that the recognition and self-management of secondary stress and burnout will contribute to a hig