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Debriefing In The Emergency Department, Alyssa Johnson

Master's Projects and Capstones

Emergency Department (ED) staff are repeatedly exposed to high stress situations and as a result suffer from compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, burnout and high turnover rates. Staff turnover is costly to the health system in the form of training new staff and potential poor patient outcomes due to under staffing or inexperience of staff. Based on a survey about debriefing, Level 1 Adult and Pediatric Emergency Department staff reported 81% felt there was inadequate support for critically stressful events that occur. Debriefing was identified by 75% of the staff as an option for support. …