HR Pulse - Spring 2008 - (Page 25) available to talk whenever she needed. He provided all of his contact information, including his home phone number. At the time, she chalked the letter up to a doctor trying to do “damage control.” She still was not ready to confront what had happened to her. The enormity of what she had been through hit her a few months later when she attended a wake for a 14-year-old girl. “I felt so guilty for being alive while this child who had had her whole life ahead of her was gone. Why did I get to survive? Now, I didn’t have a choice—the emotional impact of the incident that almost took my life was here for me to deal with whether I liked it or not.” Kenney says she felt like she started falling apart. A few months later, she met with her orthopedic surgeon, and he began talking about what the day of her cardiac arrest was like for him, but he became so emotional that he was unable to continue. It was that day when Kenney came to appreciate that the traumatic event that had rocked her and her family also affected the health care providers who treated her. A New Purpose Recognizing that the health care community was not equipped to provide emotional support in the aftermath of adverse medical events, Kenney founded Medically Induced Trauma Support Services (MITSS) in 2002 with support and advice from van Pelt. MITSS defines a medically induced trauma as an unexpected outcome that occurs during medical and/or surgical care that affects the emotional well-being of the patient, family member, or clinician. The mission of this nonprofit organization (www.mitss.org) is to “support healing and restore hope” for everyone involved in these events—patients, family members, and clinicians. It pursues its mission by: • Creating awareness and education by participating in forums and conferences and being available to the media • Providing direct assistance for those affected by adverse medical events through support groups led by licensed clinical psychologists, as well as confidential phone support via a tollfree number • Advocating for change in the health care system by consulting with institutions on how to develop clinician peer support systems and a referral process to MITSS for patients and families. A medically induced trauma, according to MITSS, differs from other types of trauma because it breaches the trust between patient and caregiver that is crucial to recovery, and because patients generally need continued care within the same system that harmed them. Clinicians are highly trained to deal with the physiological aspects of treating patients, but they receive little or no education on how to handle a patient’s emotional needs in the best of circumstances, let alone after an unforeseen trauma. Historically, any admission of error is taboo—it is seen as a sign of weakness, and it raises the specter of a lawsuit. According to MITSS, anyone who has been involved in a medically induced trauma may experience immediate or delayed emotional effects such as: • Depressed mood and loss of interest or pleasure • Sleeping or eating difficulties • Drug or alcohol abuse • Feelings of failure and loneliness • Loss of trust • Perceived indifference from caregivers • Anger, guilt, and/or frustration • Inability to think or concentrate • Frequent images or thoughts of the event triggered by non-specific events • Desire to connect with others who have experienced similar trauma. MITSS’ goal, according to Kenney, is to help everyone involved in these events by acknowledging what happened to them, making them feel less isolated and giving them the tools they need to move on. A Turning Tide Kenney says that, at first, people gave the MITSS founders “a little pat on the back” but showed little real interest in the organization’s work. But the response has changed in the last couple of years. “I think ‘business as usual’ just isn’t working anymore. The culture of health care has been to stay quiet when something bad happens, but people are starting to recognize the importance of acknowledging that mistakes do happen,” she says. “In the medical world, having feelings is seen as a weakness. But in the rest of world, it’s seen as part of life.” Kenney says her vision is of a day when MITSS is no longer needed. “Ultimately, our goal is that they {health care institutions} don’t need MITSS anymore,” she explains. “That people are supported in the aftermath of adverse events as a part of doing business. That providing those services for patients and their families and for clinicians is the norm.” Anne Coulter is a freelance writer who lives in Evanston, Ill. Learn more about her at www.bigleap.com. Clinicians are highly trained to deal with the physiological aspects of treating patients, but they receive little or no education on how to handle a patient’s emotional needs in the best of circumstances, let alone after an unforeseen trauma. 25 HR Pulse Spring 2008 http://www.mitss.org http://www.bigleap.com
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