Centered on Health 6-12-25 - Helping healthcare professionals get through on-the-job stress with Elizibeth Davis, LCSW, Employee Support Counselor
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's now time for Centered on Health with Baptists Help.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
On US Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Wait forty WYJAS Now, here's doctor Jeff Tumbler.
Speaker 4 (00:12):
Good evening, and welcome to tonight's episode of Centered on
Health with Baptist Health here on news Radio eight forty whas.
I'm your host, doctor Jeff Tublin, and we are joined
from the studio by our producer, mister Jim Fenn. He
is waiting to take your calls to talk to our
guests tonight. Our phone number is five oh two five
seven one eight four eighty four five oh two, five
(00:34):
seven one eight four eight four. Tonight, we're talking with
Elizabeth Davis, who is an employee support counselor and in
part we'll be talking tonight about helping healthcare professionals get
through on the job.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Stress.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Elizabeth is an lcswa licensed clinical social worker with extensive
work in the past that she has now channeled into
a fascinating and very important practice. She received her Masters
of Social Work at the University of Louisville and has
experience as an employee health counselor, as well as lots
(01:07):
of experience in addiction and in mental health and just
by reference in terms of burnout. In twenty twenty three,
forty five percent of physicians experience at least one symptom
of burnout. It's sixteen percent late lifted as severe. And
that's just talking about the physicians, where we know there's
a whole wide range of healthcare professionals. So Elizabeth, welcome
(01:29):
to Centered on Health.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Well, I'm very excited to have you. And you know,
just kind of by way of background, you know, every
week when I kind of talk at work about the
show that I'm doing and what we're having, I get
a little bit of feedback on the topic. And I
cannot tell you how many times this week people were
telling me how important this topic is tonight. So I
am very very grateful to have you here and we
(01:54):
are excited to hear all about it. So let's just
jump right in, and why don't you explain to us
what is an employee support counselor.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Well, that is a good question. I started this position
three years ago with Baptist Health Floyd, and at the
time we didn't know exactly what it was going to
look like because there was really nothing to model it after.
So what it has turned into is about fifty to
sixty percent of my time is do an individual therapy
(02:27):
working with the mental.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Health of this staff.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
And then the rest of it is rounding doing some
quick intervention, some crisis response, or some education with the
staff surrounding mental health or overall well being.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
What sort of interested you in social work in general
and then more specifically to get into this particular part
of it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Well, my background I was in the military.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
When I got out of the military, I wanted to
do more to help the community in a different way,
so I chose to pursue a social work degree. My
first position was with the health department, and I was
privileged to work with a lot of people with addictions,
and I found that population was underserved, So that led
(03:20):
me down that path.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
And then this opened up.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
And I found that I really enjoyed working with the shrauma.
I enjoyed the one on one therapy. It's been an
amazing fit.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
And I mentioned a little bit of statistics at the beginning,
but that was really just about specifically physicians. But how
big of a problem is this in terms of the
healthcare stress?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Huge?
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So I'm actually working on a proposal for a research
project right now to look at adverse childhood experiences and
the correlation to burnout, because I think there's a pretty
high correlation or relationship there. I've done some burnout surveys
with the staff previously to.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Just gauge that, and it is really high.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Because we're coming out of COVID, it's a new normal
for everyone, but we're not getting a lot of break
within the hospital. The census the patient level is still
really high, so it's just consistently high stress. So working
in that environment is exhausting.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
I am sure well and I've experienced it. And what
we use that term burnout a lot? What does that
mean to you? And what does it kind of what does.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
It look like?
Speaker 3 (04:42):
So a lot of the signs and symptoms for burnout
they kind of almost mimic depression in some ways. You're
going to feel fatigue, You're going to notice a lack
of empathy is starting to creep in. You might start
missing more work or not be as present at work,
and then that can develop into depression. But in itself,
(05:06):
the burnout is that that emotional exhaustion where it's just
so tough to get up.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
And go to work.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
And I think you probably answered this, but what how
do you separate the difference between stress of work and
then burnout, Because you know, we are in a health
providing profession which is going to have some degree of
stress naturally, and when does stress become burnout.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
When it's impacting your ability to function as you normally would. So,
if you've got that healthy mindset and your cup is filled,
you're able to go to work.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
You can find positive in work.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
And that's one of the protective factors against burnout is
being able to find that positive even in negative outcomes.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
So we work a.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Lot on that protect factors so that the burnout doesn't
set into you can continue to function.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
And you know, this is this program, you know reaches
a lot of people. Most of the people listening are
probably not in healthcare as providers, but every one of
us obviously has a relationship with healthcare. Why do you
think it's important for people listening to this show to
understand what burnout is and why what your work is
(06:27):
doing is so important for them.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, the statistics show the research shows that when when
staff members are dealing with burnout, it can increase the
level of turnover, decrease retention within the hospital that then
results in increased cost for the community because of the
extra metical care. And then there's also the impact on
(06:57):
patient outcomes. Actually, research that shows that negative patient outcomes
increase with the higher rate of turnout or turnover, and
if like I said, that turnover can be a result
of that burnout.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
And then of course on the patient level.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
On the patient level, you want a staff member that's
fully there and has that capacity to provide the best
care they can with the emotional support as well as
their technical expertise.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
I mean what you describe, I mean it is so important,
and I really I think that it's.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
So interesting to hear. You know, you're actually doing.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
The groundwork with the providers, but the benefits go far
beyond just the individual that you're helping. I mean, it
really is a system improvement to have this rate of
burnout be addressed.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
So I think that's that's amazing.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
How does somebody typically come to your services? Is it
something where they're having struggles and they decide to come
see you, or is it usually picked up by a
coworker or a problem where an administrator then says why
don't you go see somebody?
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Like? How does it? What's the process typically like.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
All of the above.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
I get several emails a week, sometimes a day from
individuals saying, you know, I.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Haven't come to see you before.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
I'm starting to recognize the need, and then they schedule. Otherwise,
I've had where managers or supervisors recommend they come. It's
not mandatory, it is there the staff member's choice, but
they recommend I come because they're noticing a difference in
their behavior or their composure. And then also word of
(08:46):
mouth is huge there. Frequently one or two from a
team will start to see me and then almost the
whole team seeing me shortly after, because the word of
mouth is so good that they're hearing that it's beneficial
to go see me. It's normalizing it taking away some
(09:07):
of the stigma with that word of mouth.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Yeah, and there's a lot to talk about about stigma,
for sure. And so if somebody is listening and they
happen to be in the healthcare field and they're a
staff member at a hospital or a clinic and this
is resonating with them, what's the first step. Should they
approach their direct person they report to you or is
there usually on the hospital website access?
Speaker 2 (09:33):
How is it found? How do they find you or your.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Equivalent, So there isn't a lot of equivalent to me.
I honestly couldn't tell you of another hospital for sure
that has this. I believe there's hospitals looking at implementing
something similar, but again I can't tell you of any
specific hospital that actually has this. So generally, though, there
(09:58):
is an employee assistant program, which is like an outsourced
referral type process, and most organizations nowadays have an employee
assistance program where they can call up and get linked
up with the mental health professional in the community. For
our people they can use we still have an employee
assistance program if they don't want to utilize me. If
(10:21):
they do want to utilize me, they can find my
I have a booking calendar. It's it's very simple to use.
They just click the link and then it takes them
to my available dates and times, and then they book
it and then they show up for their appointment.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Well, you said it better than I could that what
you're doing is certainly setting trends for quality of care
that we're providing here in Louisville, and we certainly are
appreciative that we're going to take a break here. And
I want to let everybody know that you are listening
to Center It on Health with Baptist Health here on
news radio eight forty whas. I'm your host, doctor Jeff Tublin,
(10:59):
and we're talking tonight with Elizabeth Davis, who is a
licensed clinical social worker, talking about mental health and employee
health on the job stress.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
I want to welcome you back to Centered on Health
with Baptist Health here on news radio eight forty wahs.
I'm your host, doctor Jeff Telban, and we're talking with
Elizabeth Davis tonight. We're talking about healthcare, stress management, and
mental health in general. Our phone number is five oh two,
five seven one, eight four eight four. Our producer, mister
Jim Fenn is on standby to take your calls. Five two,
(11:47):
five seven one eight four eighty four. We want to
hear from you and answer your questions. So Elizabeth, welcome back,
and I want to just start by asking you, what
would you say are the most common things people say
to you when you evaluate them.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
That are the sources of their stress.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Are they institutional things like oh, I don't get enough
support from the administration, or are they patient factors? What
do you experience as the most common complaints that drive them.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Actually, the most common thing that comes in or reason
for people to come in is previous trauma. So that
could be some childhood trauma they experienced, trauma related.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
To a divorce or the death of a child.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
I do get my fair share of people coming in
feeling unsupported, but the bulk of it would be more
related to trauma. And it could be that something within
the hospital triggered that, or it could.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Just be they tired of living that way and want
to work through it.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
So, and I'm sure your background with what we talked
about in terms of your other experiences certainly come come
into play to help them with that.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
What is your actual role? So they come to you.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
And they were either referred to you or they're noticing
a pattern of behavior in themselves, what role do you
actually play with them?
Speaker 3 (13:22):
I provide support in therapy, just like you would get
if you were going to a therapist.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
In the community.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
I have people that come every week for an hour session,
or they come once a month, or just when they
feel like they need to tune up. And I've had
some that have been seeing me for almost the whole
time I've worked there. Pretty consistently as we work through
these things.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
And I know that you're I know you're being very modest,
but our listeners should know that you are very well
acclaimed in terms of what you are doing in this field.
And I know that you were the Floyd Employee of
the Year, which is congratulations on that. And you do
a lot of programs, and I would love to kind
(14:14):
of go through some of the things that you're doing
for our community, because, like we talked about earlier, what
you do with our employees is important and far reaching
to our entire community. So tell us a couple of
the programs that you see that kind of help with
stress with employees.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
So one thing that we are piloting currently in the
emergency department is called a code lavender.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
That's not unique to our hospital.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
We identified that as being effective in other hospitals and
are attempting to implement it in ours. And basically that's
a response system. So if a staff member in the
emergency department is feeling overwhelmed, they can call a code
lavender or someone can call it for them, and then
they'll have a response team come respond to that need.
(15:05):
And that could look depending on who responds That could
look like allowing them time to leave the floor and
someone takes over their spot. It could be giving them
a hand massage, or providing them with some essential oils
in a quiet place to decompress or go for a walk,
or just have someone listen to them about what's going on.
We are also going to pilot a peer support type
(15:28):
program at the end of the summer with a couple
of our departments in.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Which we'll train the entire team that's on that floor, to.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Include the environmental services, the food and nutrition, the OTPT,
your physical therapy, occupational therapists, your nurses, your managers so
that they can provide that sport to each other so
they don't have to wait for someone to become available
to support them. Those are two of the biggest things
we're doing. And then I'm also part of our Retention
(16:01):
and Engagement Counsel, which tries to implement different activities throughout
the hospital to really keep the staff engaged and enjoy
coming to work and feel like they're recognized.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
So that's another major component. And then I brought on
a therapy dog not quite two years ago. His name
is doctor Floyd Weggs.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
He's famous of his own right, he provides really useful.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Services to our staff by just.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Being there and being goofy and happy, and it allows
the staff to just kind of let go of some
emotions in a safe space because most people, not everybody,
but most people love dogs and they're safe.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
So I want to break those two things up for
just a second because I'm so curious about.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Both of them. When it comes to the Code Lavender.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
What is the feedback that you get about what it
provides to people? How do they express to you what
their experience of calling on themselves a code Lavender does
for them.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Well, it's still a work in progress because medical staff
in themselves are very.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Resistant to asking for help at times.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
If they yes, great, So we're still working on getting
people to call them on themselves. So so far, we've
only had one truly successful call out. The other times
that we've responded have been because we've noticed the chaos
going on, or through word of mouth we've heard that
(17:48):
someone is struggling. And the feedback has been excellent though that,
especially that we have some Lavender toilettes and then the
hand massages, those two things have really made an impact
and UH seem to allow the person to feel seen
and heard and get that moment that they need.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
And and what about the famous doctor, doctor Waggs, How
is he utilized this? He just sort of in one
place in the hospital that people can come and visit.
Do people interact with him like throughout the hospital?
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Like? How does that work?
Speaker 1 (18:28):
So he's my buddy.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
He comes home with me at night most of the Yeah,
most of the time. If I'm at work, he's with me.
If I don't have him with me, I get a
hundred questions a day.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Where's doc.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
He's very well known, so will Brown's the hospital. So
we'll hit as many units as we can today and
then in the cafeteria you'll see him stealing French fries
from people. That Yeah, he's part of the family. He
started working there at nine weeks old, so the staff
(19:03):
got to watch him grow. So it's an extension. Just
the other day, I had a couple of staff members
talking about how they get annoyed with their dogs at
home and it's not all that special to them anymore.
The doc is still special because he doesn't create any
responsibility for the staff.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
He is just there to love on them and for
them to love on him.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
So it's just unconditionally, Yeah, unconditionally.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
So when it comes to sort of these programs, and
I know this ties into a bigger issue that we
don't have to tackle quite yet, but in general, do
you feel people are resistant to taking advantage of these
because they don't want.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
To appear weak at all, or.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
That there's still too much of a stigma of needing
mental health.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
There is still a huge stigma that it's getting better.
It is getting a lot better, but there is still
a huge stigma where I'll hear a lot that the
staff don't want it on their record if they have
a mental health concern. So the way we have it
set up my program, I don't use our electronical medical records,
(20:15):
so their information isn't going anywhere that anyone else in
the hospital can see, which they appreciate r And I'm
not building insurance, so their insurance company is not finding
out if they've been diagnosed with depression or anything like that.
So that's a huge relief, and they're more willing to
come see me because of that. I've had numerous people
(20:37):
tell me that. And part of this, I'll also see
first responders in the community if they need care and
I've had some first responders come to me because they
don't want their chain of command to know they're seeing
mental health right, And that's the way, you know, to
provide them services and get them what they need without
(20:58):
them worrying about the impact on their jobs.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
It's absolutely amazing.
Speaker 4 (21:06):
Well, we're going to take another short break right here.
I want to remind everybody listening that you are listening
to Cenate on Health with Baptist Health here on news
radio eight forty WAHS. Our phone number five oh two,
five seven one, eight four eighty four if you want
to call it and join our conversation. We're talking with
Elizabeth Davis about mental health and healthcare employees.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Will be right back.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
Welcome back to Senate on Health with Baptist Help here
on news radio eight forty WHS. I'm your host, doctor
Jeff Collon, and we're talking tonight with Elizabeth Davis about
healthcare workers and stress and on the job stress management.
And we've been learning a lot about what we're doing
in the community and how that's helping both our staffing
and our community at large. Elizabeth, we did have somebody
(22:09):
submit a question they wanted to know in your experience
with what you hear from people. How much do for
lack of a better term, I guess defensive medicine, like
the legal threats drive people stress in their everyday job
of providing healthcare.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Oh okay, you're talking about the concern of losing licensure?
Speaker 4 (22:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Do people Does that create a level of stress? Do
they report that as something that day to day they
stress about?
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
What I've seen is excuse me, the higher the census,
so the higher our patient load, that tends to drive
that stress a little more or that concern. Sure, because
we have to get creative at times to be able
to provide the care that people deserve. Right, so when
(23:10):
nurses are stretched thin, they worry about that, which then turns,
you know, then they start worrying about their license, just
any professional does, because you want to give your best.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Yes, thank you.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
So we were talking earlier about some of the things
you're doing, and I know that you're again, I know
you're being very modest because you do so many things,
but you also create things, and I know that you're
working on things in oncology, you know, things that go
way beyond what we as we're listening, we might think
of just like, oh, the stress and the ER or
(23:49):
the stress and the ICU, Like what what kinds of
other programs are you working on throughout the health system?
Speaker 1 (23:57):
So within oncology, that is where we're going to be.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Piloting the peer support, where all of the team will
get trained to provide that healthy support for each other.
And that'll be each in each individual team member or
staff member, regardless of their role, will get trained on
how to support each other and to recognize signs and.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Symptoms and then what to do with that because sometimes.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
We do see that people are struggling and we just
assume someone else will take care of it, or you know,
it's not your business. But in reality, we want to
look out for each other and we want to provide
that support. And then we're also implementing next year at
the start at the end of the summer, one of
the interns I have from Spaulding University is going to
(24:47):
be immersed into the oncology department and provide one on
one support to the staff, group support to the staff
as needed, and then also will be provided therapeutics support
to the oncology patients, which is something we don't currently have.
So I think that is a really amazing program that
(25:10):
we'll be starting.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
So you know, you mentioned a little bit that you know,
one of the students are interns that are working with you,
and I know that you do a lot of teaching
outside of what you're doing with in the hospitals and stuff,
so you know what you're doing for the education for
sort of that next generation, Like, it's just amazing.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
So thank you and.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
We'll definitely be having you back at some point to
hear the follow up on how all those programs are going.
So you know, I know the goal is to get
this sort of almost second nature that right like as
a team noted, we're finding these things, we're identifying them.
But until these programs become implemented and sort of the routine,
(25:56):
what would you say colleagues should be looking out as
red flas for their their coworkers that they might after
listening to this say, you know what, I do think
I noticed this or that in one of my work.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
Colleagues really change in behavior, whether that's physical behaviors, So
if they're not putting on the makeup like they used to,
or if they're not doing their hair like they used to,
if they're.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Coming in wrinkled and they didn't used to.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
It's we're looking at change, right, if they've always come
in wrinkled, that's different. And then for the emotional responses,
if you notice that either they're showing less emotion than
normal or increased emotion, those.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Can be signs that we need to look out for.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Increased fatigue, so if they've slowed down or if you
see them, you know, looking more exhausted or increased energy
can also be a because sometimes we overcompensate and our
body reacts different and we're kind of like buzzing around
when we're stressed. So paying attention to those or if
(27:09):
they used to be vocal about what's going on at
home and then they stop talking about that.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Things like that is what we need to look out
for in our peers.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
And that's across the board, whether you're a healthcare worker
or not.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
You know, it's such a simple thing that you say,
but it's so important.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
It's you know, you know your co workers, so if you.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Start to see a change and what you expect to
be normal for them, that that's what they're.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Looking out for.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
So that's that's really something we can kind of grab
onto and implement so, but you do see see individuals
and you do hear these things and kind of help
sort them through. So what are some of the things
you do with them once you identify an underlying problem?
Do you run support groups? Do you refer to support,
(28:00):
do you do coping mechanisms? What are some of your
the tools of the trade that you do.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
So we have.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Usually most of it's done by me. We have called
in through our EAP program, I someone to help in
a group session because it was such a large event
that we wanted more support than just myself. Otherwise, when
something happens on a floor that was impactful, I'll go
(28:31):
in and offer some group sessions if that's what they want,
or make myself more present for them. So even if
they don't want to talk about it now, they might
want to talk about it later, or they just know
someone cared enough to show up. So that's a big
part of it. For the individual sessions. I do a
lot of cognitive behavior therapy, and what that does is
(28:55):
it helps the individuals identify and kind of challenge their
rational as thoughts and believe. We also do a lot
I say we I do a lot of acceptance and
commitment therapy, which focuses on accepting uncomfortable thoughts and feelings
rather than controlling them. Part of that is radical acceptance,
(29:16):
where it doesn't mean you have to like it necessarily,
but you accept it for what it is, because we
can't control everything.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
And we can't always change things. And then for the trauma,
I use em DR therapy, which is I.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Movement desensitization reprocessing quite a bit. That is a phenomenal
modality that I feel like is under used in the
trauma world.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
Yeah, I actually want to talk a lot about that,
So I'm gonna I'm going to ask you to kind
of hold on on that till we come back from
our next break. But before we do go to the break,
if there was if there was an administrator or any
type of administrator from a healthcare system listening to this
show and saying and hearing you, what would you say
(30:02):
to them? What should administrations be thinking about and trying
to do to improve this situation?
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Well, from a cost basive basis perspective, my salary is
covered if one nurse does not leave for a year.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
M that's an amazing number.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Amazing Yes, the cost of retraining and all the things
necessary to if one nurse leaves, it's it's my salary
is covered if that one nurse stay.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
And it's amazing to think about it in that parameter.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Yes, because it's just such it's so costly when we
lose medical state people.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yeah, exactly right.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
So that's one thing right there.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
But also the culture of the departments of the hospital
as a whole can improve so much by bringing in
people that are there just to show that we care.
I don't bring any funding into the hospital short of
cost savings by not losing people.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
We don't build for anything I do. But the culture
is better.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Because the viewpoint from a mental health professional, we look
at things a little differently, and we can help educate
management peers on how to communicate with each other so
that they're happier to be there. And then that carries
over to how happy the patience can be because they
(31:42):
don't want to hear arguments outside the room. They don't
want to have someone come in and take care of them.
That's frustrated because of what's going on outside of their room.
So it's beneficial to the whole community by taking care
of the staff and their mental health.
Speaker 4 (32:00):
Well, let's hope that people are listening to this because
that was well said and we will all benefit from it.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
We're going to take our.
Speaker 4 (32:07):
Final break right now and we're going to talk a
little bit about trauma and your expertise in that area
when we come back. This is centered on help with
Baptist Help. Here on news radio eight forty WHS. I'm
your host, doctor Jeff Helvin. We're talking with Elizabeth Davis.
Remember to download the iHeartRadio app and re listen to
this or any of our previous segments to have access
to all of the other features the app has to offer.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
Welcome back to Cenate on Help with Baptist Help. Here
on news radio eight forty WHS. I'm your host, doctor
Jeff Telvin. We're talking tonight with Elizabeth Davis. I want
to remind you to download the iHeartRadio app. It's free,
it's easy to use, and it gives you access to
tonight's show and all this excellent information. So, Elizabeth, in
the last segment that we have here, I want to
(33:06):
switch gears a little bit to another area that I
know that you are extremely experienced in, which is trauma,
and I just kind of want to mention that we
are going to be talking a little bit about trauma
if that might be hard for people to listen to.
But can you tell us how do you define trauma?
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Like what does that mean?
Speaker 3 (33:31):
Well, there's different kinds of trauma you've got, Like you're
a cute trauma, which is just I don't want to
say just that, but it's a single event that has
impacted you. Chronic trauma is when there's been repeated exposure
to trauma.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
So that might be like abuse.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
Or things like that that continuously occur. Complex traumas and
you've got multiple chronic traumatic events that have occurred. And
then you've got your secondary trauma, which is kind of
where you're getting exposed to those stories or experiences of
others they impact you significantly.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
So a great example of that, you know, would be.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Our EMS teams when they're seeing what other people are
going through on an.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
The rest, so that that's them kind of having responses
to what they're kind of being exposed to on their job.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Yes, got it.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
And that's not just healthcare people, right, people are court.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Appointed special advocates.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
They deal with trauma when they're work or secondary trauma
when they're working with the children in the community.
Speaker 4 (34:50):
So does that so you know, because bad things happen,
and bad things happen to all of us when it
becomes an incident that something bad has but then it
becomes something traumatic for the individual.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Is it something that happens in their mind that makes
it that?
Speaker 4 (35:11):
Is it a core did they start believing something like
as a internal belief that other people that don't experience
the trauma trauma chronically do? Like why does one become
chronically and affected and someone else might not?
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Or do we not know the answer to that?
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Well, there's been studies to look at that.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
There's been some like twin studies where twins have experienced
similar things but respond differently to them, because we all
respond differently to similar situations. So in research, looking at
the twins gives the better idea if it's your DNA
or if it's environmental factor, And really it's kind of both.
So some people are more inclined to be affected by
(35:58):
the trauma than others. Or it could be how where
you were in life when it happened. Yet I can't
quite give you an exect answer, right.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
But you did talk about the E M D R.
Speaker 4 (36:14):
And I apologize I kind of cut that a little
bit short because I wanted to say that, but I
know that that's an interesting thing that you do.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Can you tell us a little bit about what that is.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Yeah, So E M d R is kind of targeting
those negative leaps you mentioned. They are results of those
traumatic events, So you might start believing that you're not
good enough or that you didn't do enough, and we
can target.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Those because that impacts how you live.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
If you're going through life thinking you're not good enough,
you're not going to be super successful in things because
you're going to doubt yourself.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
It can really impair your functioning.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
So with the e M d R, we start off
with some coping mechanisms, some regulation techniques, and then I
kind of call it voodoo when I'm working with people
to explain it because it's so effective, but it's weird.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
But with EMDR, what you do is you access to
your memories of the traumatic event, and we do this
in specific ways, and then we.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
Combine that with some eye movements and some guided instruction
through me and we access those memories to help you
process or reprocess what actually occurred from the event, and
that reprocessing helps you repair the mental injury that occurred
as a result of that event. So then you also
(37:44):
start kind of remembering what happened in a different way.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
You don't forget what.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
Happened, it's just you're no longer feeling it like you're
reliving it. It's a memory then, and it's more manageable
at that point.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
So then it helps re do those.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
Negative core beliefs about yourself, and we tried to bring
in some positive core beliefs.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
I love that description of it being like a core belief,
and I also really like the way you said, how
you know you're not telling a patient that it didn't
happen or that they you know they can't have been
upset by it, but how to deal with that and
to be more functional with it?
Speaker 2 (38:24):
How successful is that?
Speaker 4 (38:26):
I mean, how long does it take to do something
like that and to see the positive results from it.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
With well, one example, I utilized it on the floor
with someone right after a death.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
It was pretty traumatic for a staff member, and it.
Speaker 3 (38:42):
Took for less than five minutes for them to be
able to walk away in a much better headspace.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
For more traumatic events that occurred in childhood.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
It might take several sessions and a session of that
can last maybe thirty minutes, but we're not talking the
years of therapy that it takes with your typical talk therapy.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
I mean when you said five minutes, that literally like
blew me away hearing that. Well, Oliva, thank you so
much for sharing so much information. I mean, it is
obvious that what you're doing is just at the beginning
and you're outreaching not only to our staff but to
our community, and we appreciate everything you're doing. I hope
you get lots of help doing it. Sounds like you're
(39:27):
doing a lot on your own. Well that is going
to do it. For tonight's segment of Setting on Health
with Baptist Health, I'm your host, doctor Jeff Tublin, and
I want to.
Speaker 2 (39:35):
Thank our guest Elizabeth Davis.
Speaker 4 (39:37):
I want to thank our producer mister Jim Benn, and
of course you all for listening every week. Join us
every Thursday night for another segment. I hope everybody, everybody
has a healthy and happy rest of your week. If
(40:00):
this program is for informational purposes only and should not
be relied upon as medical advice, the content of this
program is not intended to be a substitute for professional
medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
This show is not designed to replace a physician's medical
assessment and medical judgment.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
Always seek the advice of your physician with any questions
or concerns you may.
Speaker 2 (40:20):
Have related to your personal health or regarding specific medical conditions.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
To find a Baptist health provider, please visit Baptistealth dot com.
It's now time for Centered on Health with Baptists Help.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
On US Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Wait forty WYJAS Now, here's doctor Jeff Tumbler.
Speaker 4 (00:12):
Good evening, and welcome to tonight's episode of Centered on
Health with Baptist Health here on news Radio eight forty whas.
I'm your host, doctor Jeff Tublin, and we are joined
from the studio by our producer, mister Jim Fenn. He
is waiting to take your calls to talk to our
guests tonight. Our phone number is five oh two five
seven one eight four eighty four five oh two, five
(00:34):
seven one eight four eight four. Tonight, we're talking with
Elizabeth Davis, who is an employee support counselor and in
part we'll be talking tonight about helping healthcare professionals get
through on the job.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Stress.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Elizabeth is an lcswa licensed clinical social worker with extensive
work in the past that she has now channeled into
a fascinating and very important practice. She received her Masters
of Social Work at the University of Louisville and has
experience as an employee health counselor, as well as lots
(01:07):
of experience in addiction and in mental health and just
by reference in terms of burnout. In twenty twenty three,
forty five percent of physicians experience at least one symptom
of burnout. It's sixteen percent late lifted as severe. And
that's just talking about the physicians, where we know there's
a whole wide range of healthcare professionals. So Elizabeth, welcome
(01:29):
to Centered on Health.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Well, I'm very excited to have you. And you know,
just kind of by way of background, you know, every
week when I kind of talk at work about the
show that I'm doing and what we're having, I get
a little bit of feedback on the topic. And I
cannot tell you how many times this week people were
telling me how important this topic is tonight. So I
am very very grateful to have you here and we
(01:54):
are excited to hear all about it. So let's just
jump right in, and why don't you explain to us
what is an employee support counselor.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Well, that is a good question. I started this position
three years ago with Baptist Health Floyd, and at the
time we didn't know exactly what it was going to
look like because there was really nothing to model it after.
So what it has turned into is about fifty to
sixty percent of my time is do an individual therapy
(02:27):
working with the mental.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Health of this staff.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
And then the rest of it is rounding doing some
quick intervention, some crisis response, or some education with the
staff surrounding mental health or overall well being.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
What sort of interested you in social work in general
and then more specifically to get into this particular part
of it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Well, my background I was in the military.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
When I got out of the military, I wanted to
do more to help the community in a different way,
so I chose to pursue a social work degree. My
first position was with the health department, and I was
privileged to work with a lot of people with addictions,
and I found that population was underserved, So that led
(03:20):
me down that path.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
And then this opened up.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
And I found that I really enjoyed working with the shrauma.
I enjoyed the one on one therapy. It's been an
amazing fit.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
And I mentioned a little bit of statistics at the beginning,
but that was really just about specifically physicians. But how
big of a problem is this in terms of the
healthcare stress?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Huge?
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So I'm actually working on a proposal for a research
project right now to look at adverse childhood experiences and
the correlation to burnout, because I think there's a pretty
high correlation or relationship there. I've done some burnout surveys
with the staff previously to.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Just gauge that, and it is really high.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Because we're coming out of COVID, it's a new normal
for everyone, but we're not getting a lot of break
within the hospital. The census the patient level is still
really high, so it's just consistently high stress. So working
in that environment is exhausting.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
I am sure well and I've experienced it. And what
we use that term burnout a lot? What does that
mean to you? And what does it kind of what does.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
It look like?
Speaker 3 (04:42):
So a lot of the signs and symptoms for burnout
they kind of almost mimic depression in some ways. You're
going to feel fatigue, You're going to notice a lack
of empathy is starting to creep in. You might start
missing more work or not be as present at work,
and then that can develop into depression. But in itself,
(05:06):
the burnout is that that emotional exhaustion where it's just
so tough to get up.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
And go to work.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
And I think you probably answered this, but what how
do you separate the difference between stress of work and
then burnout, Because you know, we are in a health
providing profession which is going to have some degree of
stress naturally, and when does stress become burnout.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
When it's impacting your ability to function as you normally would. So,
if you've got that healthy mindset and your cup is filled,
you're able to go to work.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
You can find positive in work.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
And that's one of the protective factors against burnout is
being able to find that positive even in negative outcomes.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
So we work a.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Lot on that protect factors so that the burnout doesn't
set into you can continue to function.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
And you know, this is this program, you know reaches
a lot of people. Most of the people listening are
probably not in healthcare as providers, but every one of
us obviously has a relationship with healthcare. Why do you
think it's important for people listening to this show to
understand what burnout is and why what your work is
(06:27):
doing is so important for them.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, the statistics show the research shows that when when
staff members are dealing with burnout, it can increase the
level of turnover, decrease retention within the hospital that then
results in increased cost for the community because of the
extra metical care. And then there's also the impact on
(06:57):
patient outcomes. Actually, research that shows that negative patient outcomes
increase with the higher rate of turnout or turnover, and
if like I said, that turnover can be a result
of that burnout.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
And then of course on the patient level.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
On the patient level, you want a staff member that's
fully there and has that capacity to provide the best
care they can with the emotional support as well as
their technical expertise.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
I mean what you describe, I mean it is so important,
and I really I think that it's.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
So interesting to hear. You know, you're actually doing.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
The groundwork with the providers, but the benefits go far
beyond just the individual that you're helping. I mean, it
really is a system improvement to have this rate of
burnout be addressed.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
So I think that's that's amazing.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
How does somebody typically come to your services? Is it
something where they're having struggles and they decide to come
see you, or is it usually picked up by a
coworker or a problem where an administrator then says why
don't you go see somebody?
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Like? How does it? What's the process typically like.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
All of the above.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
I get several emails a week, sometimes a day from
individuals saying, you know, I.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Haven't come to see you before.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
I'm starting to recognize the need, and then they schedule. Otherwise,
I've had where managers or supervisors recommend they come. It's
not mandatory, it is there the staff member's choice, but
they recommend I come because they're noticing a difference in
their behavior or their composure. And then also word of
(08:46):
mouth is huge there. Frequently one or two from a
team will start to see me and then almost the
whole team seeing me shortly after, because the word of
mouth is so good that they're hearing that it's beneficial
to go see me. It's normalizing it taking away some
(09:07):
of the stigma with that word of mouth.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Yeah, and there's a lot to talk about about stigma,
for sure. And so if somebody is listening and they
happen to be in the healthcare field and they're a
staff member at a hospital or a clinic and this
is resonating with them, what's the first step. Should they
approach their direct person they report to you or is
there usually on the hospital website access?
Speaker 2 (09:33):
How is it found? How do they find you or your.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Equivalent, So there isn't a lot of equivalent to me.
I honestly couldn't tell you of another hospital for sure
that has this. I believe there's hospitals looking at implementing
something similar, but again I can't tell you of any
specific hospital that actually has this. So generally, though, there
(09:58):
is an employee assistant program, which is like an outsourced
referral type process, and most organizations nowadays have an employee
assistance program where they can call up and get linked
up with the mental health professional in the community. For
our people they can use we still have an employee
assistance program if they don't want to utilize me. If
(10:21):
they do want to utilize me, they can find my
I have a booking calendar. It's it's very simple to use.
They just click the link and then it takes them
to my available dates and times, and then they book
it and then they show up for their appointment.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Well, you said it better than I could that what
you're doing is certainly setting trends for quality of care
that we're providing here in Louisville, and we certainly are
appreciative that we're going to take a break here. And
I want to let everybody know that you are listening
to Center It on Health with Baptist Health here on
news radio eight forty whas. I'm your host, doctor Jeff Tublin,
(10:59):
and we're talking tonight with Elizabeth Davis, who is a
licensed clinical social worker, talking about mental health and employee
health on the job stress.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
I want to welcome you back to Centered on Health
with Baptist Health here on news radio eight forty wahs.
I'm your host, doctor Jeff Telban, and we're talking with
Elizabeth Davis tonight. We're talking about healthcare, stress management, and
mental health in general. Our phone number is five oh two,
five seven one, eight four eight four. Our producer, mister
Jim Fenn is on standby to take your calls. Five two,
(11:47):
five seven one eight four eighty four. We want to
hear from you and answer your questions. So Elizabeth, welcome back,
and I want to just start by asking you, what
would you say are the most common things people say
to you when you evaluate them.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
That are the sources of their stress.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Are they institutional things like oh, I don't get enough
support from the administration, or are they patient factors? What
do you experience as the most common complaints that drive them.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Actually, the most common thing that comes in or reason
for people to come in is previous trauma. So that
could be some childhood trauma they experienced, trauma related.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
To a divorce or the death of a child.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
I do get my fair share of people coming in
feeling unsupported, but the bulk of it would be more
related to trauma. And it could be that something within
the hospital triggered that, or it could.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Just be they tired of living that way and want
to work through it.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
So, and I'm sure your background with what we talked
about in terms of your other experiences certainly come come
into play to help them with that.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
What is your actual role? So they come to you.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
And they were either referred to you or they're noticing
a pattern of behavior in themselves, what role do you
actually play with them?
Speaker 3 (13:22):
I provide support in therapy, just like you would get
if you were going to a therapist.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
In the community.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
I have people that come every week for an hour session,
or they come once a month, or just when they
feel like they need to tune up. And I've had
some that have been seeing me for almost the whole
time I've worked there. Pretty consistently as we work through
these things.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
And I know that you're I know you're being very modest,
but our listeners should know that you are very well
acclaimed in terms of what you are doing in this field.
And I know that you were the Floyd Employee of
the Year, which is congratulations on that. And you do
a lot of programs, and I would love to kind
(14:14):
of go through some of the things that you're doing
for our community, because, like we talked about earlier, what
you do with our employees is important and far reaching
to our entire community. So tell us a couple of
the programs that you see that kind of help with
stress with employees.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
So one thing that we are piloting currently in the
emergency department is called a code lavender.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
That's not unique to our hospital.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
We identified that as being effective in other hospitals and
are attempting to implement it in ours. And basically that's
a response system. So if a staff member in the
emergency department is feeling overwhelmed, they can call a code
lavender or someone can call it for them, and then
they'll have a response team come respond to that need.
(15:05):
And that could look depending on who responds That could
look like allowing them time to leave the floor and
someone takes over their spot. It could be giving them
a hand massage, or providing them with some essential oils
in a quiet place to decompress or go for a walk,
or just have someone listen to them about what's going on.
We are also going to pilot a peer support type
(15:28):
program at the end of the summer with a couple
of our departments in.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Which we'll train the entire team that's on that floor, to.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Include the environmental services, the food and nutrition, the OTPT,
your physical therapy, occupational therapists, your nurses, your managers so
that they can provide that sport to each other so
they don't have to wait for someone to become available
to support them. Those are two of the biggest things
we're doing. And then I'm also part of our Retention
(16:01):
and Engagement Counsel, which tries to implement different activities throughout
the hospital to really keep the staff engaged and enjoy
coming to work and feel like they're recognized.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
So that's another major component. And then I brought on
a therapy dog not quite two years ago. His name
is doctor Floyd Weggs.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
He's famous of his own right, he provides really useful.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Services to our staff by just.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Being there and being goofy and happy, and it allows
the staff to just kind of let go of some
emotions in a safe space because most people, not everybody,
but most people love dogs and they're safe.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
So I want to break those two things up for
just a second because I'm so curious about.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Both of them. When it comes to the Code Lavender.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
What is the feedback that you get about what it
provides to people? How do they express to you what
their experience of calling on themselves a code Lavender does
for them.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Well, it's still a work in progress because medical staff
in themselves are very.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Resistant to asking for help at times.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
If they yes, great, So we're still working on getting
people to call them on themselves. So so far, we've
only had one truly successful call out. The other times
that we've responded have been because we've noticed the chaos
going on, or through word of mouth we've heard that
(17:48):
someone is struggling. And the feedback has been excellent though that,
especially that we have some Lavender toilettes and then the
hand massages, those two things have really made an impact
and UH seem to allow the person to feel seen
and heard and get that moment that they need.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
And and what about the famous doctor, doctor Waggs, How
is he utilized this? He just sort of in one
place in the hospital that people can come and visit.
Do people interact with him like throughout the hospital?
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Like? How does that work?
Speaker 1 (18:28):
So he's my buddy.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
He comes home with me at night most of the Yeah,
most of the time. If I'm at work, he's with me.
If I don't have him with me, I get a
hundred questions a day.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Where's doc.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
He's very well known, so will Brown's the hospital. So
we'll hit as many units as we can today and
then in the cafeteria you'll see him stealing French fries
from people. That Yeah, he's part of the family. He
started working there at nine weeks old, so the staff
(19:03):
got to watch him grow. So it's an extension. Just
the other day, I had a couple of staff members
talking about how they get annoyed with their dogs at
home and it's not all that special to them anymore.
The doc is still special because he doesn't create any
responsibility for the staff.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
He is just there to love on them and for
them to love on him.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
So it's just unconditionally, Yeah, unconditionally.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
So when it comes to sort of these programs, and
I know this ties into a bigger issue that we
don't have to tackle quite yet, but in general, do
you feel people are resistant to taking advantage of these
because they don't want.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
To appear weak at all, or.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
That there's still too much of a stigma of needing
mental health.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
There is still a huge stigma that it's getting better.
It is getting a lot better, but there is still
a huge stigma where I'll hear a lot that the
staff don't want it on their record if they have
a mental health concern. So the way we have it
set up my program, I don't use our electronical medical records,
(20:15):
so their information isn't going anywhere that anyone else in
the hospital can see, which they appreciate r And I'm
not building insurance, so their insurance company is not finding
out if they've been diagnosed with depression or anything like that.
So that's a huge relief, and they're more willing to
come see me because of that. I've had numerous people
(20:37):
tell me that. And part of this, I'll also see
first responders in the community if they need care and
I've had some first responders come to me because they
don't want their chain of command to know they're seeing
mental health right, And that's the way, you know, to
provide them services and get them what they need without
(20:58):
them worrying about the impact on their jobs.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
It's absolutely amazing.
Speaker 4 (21:06):
Well, we're going to take another short break right here.
I want to remind everybody listening that you are listening
to Cenate on Health with Baptist Health here on news
radio eight forty WAHS. Our phone number five oh two,
five seven one, eight four eighty four if you want
to call it and join our conversation. We're talking with
Elizabeth Davis about mental health and healthcare employees.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Will be right back.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
Welcome back to Senate on Health with Baptist Help here
on news radio eight forty WHS. I'm your host, doctor
Jeff Collon, and we're talking tonight with Elizabeth Davis about
healthcare workers and stress and on the job stress management.
And we've been learning a lot about what we're doing
in the community and how that's helping both our staffing
and our community at large. Elizabeth, we did have somebody
(22:09):
submit a question they wanted to know in your experience
with what you hear from people. How much do for
lack of a better term, I guess defensive medicine, like
the legal threats drive people stress in their everyday job
of providing healthcare.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Oh okay, you're talking about the concern of losing licensure?
Speaker 4 (22:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Do people Does that create a level of stress? Do
they report that as something that day to day they
stress about?
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
What I've seen is excuse me, the higher the census,
so the higher our patient load, that tends to drive
that stress a little more or that concern. Sure, because
we have to get creative at times to be able
to provide the care that people deserve. Right, so when
(23:10):
nurses are stretched thin, they worry about that, which then turns,
you know, then they start worrying about their license, just
any professional does, because you want to give your best.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Yes, thank you.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
So we were talking earlier about some of the things
you're doing, and I know that you're again, I know
you're being very modest because you do so many things,
but you also create things, and I know that you're
working on things in oncology, you know, things that go
way beyond what we as we're listening, we might think
of just like, oh, the stress and the ER or
(23:49):
the stress and the ICU, Like what what kinds of
other programs are you working on throughout the health system?
Speaker 1 (23:57):
So within oncology, that is where we're going to be.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Piloting the peer support, where all of the team will
get trained to provide that healthy support for each other.
And that'll be each in each individual team member or
staff member, regardless of their role, will get trained on
how to support each other and to recognize signs and.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Symptoms and then what to do with that because sometimes.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
We do see that people are struggling and we just
assume someone else will take care of it, or you know,
it's not your business. But in reality, we want to
look out for each other and we want to provide
that support. And then we're also implementing next year at
the start at the end of the summer, one of
the interns I have from Spaulding University is going to
(24:47):
be immersed into the oncology department and provide one on
one support to the staff, group support to the staff
as needed, and then also will be provided therapeutics support
to the oncology patients, which is something we don't currently have.
So I think that is a really amazing program that
(25:10):
we'll be starting.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
So you know, you mentioned a little bit that you know,
one of the students are interns that are working with you,
and I know that you do a lot of teaching
outside of what you're doing with in the hospitals and stuff,
so you know what you're doing for the education for
sort of that next generation, Like, it's just amazing.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
So thank you and.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
We'll definitely be having you back at some point to
hear the follow up on how all those programs are going.
So you know, I know the goal is to get
this sort of almost second nature that right like as
a team noted, we're finding these things, we're identifying them.
But until these programs become implemented and sort of the routine,
(25:56):
what would you say colleagues should be looking out as
red flas for their their coworkers that they might after
listening to this say, you know what, I do think
I noticed this or that in one of my work.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
Colleagues really change in behavior, whether that's physical behaviors, So
if they're not putting on the makeup like they used to,
or if they're not doing their hair like they used to,
if they're.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Coming in wrinkled and they didn't used to.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
It's we're looking at change, right, if they've always come
in wrinkled, that's different. And then for the emotional responses,
if you notice that either they're showing less emotion than
normal or increased emotion, those.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Can be signs that we need to look out for.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Increased fatigue, so if they've slowed down or if you
see them, you know, looking more exhausted or increased energy
can also be a because sometimes we overcompensate and our
body reacts different and we're kind of like buzzing around
when we're stressed. So paying attention to those or if
(27:09):
they used to be vocal about what's going on at
home and then they stop talking about that.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Things like that is what we need to look out
for in our peers.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
And that's across the board, whether you're a healthcare worker
or not.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
You know, it's such a simple thing that you say,
but it's so important.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
It's you know, you know your co workers, so if you.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Start to see a change and what you expect to
be normal for them, that that's what they're.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Looking out for.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
So that's that's really something we can kind of grab
onto and implement so, but you do see see individuals
and you do hear these things and kind of help
sort them through. So what are some of the things
you do with them once you identify an underlying problem?
Do you run support groups? Do you refer to support,
(28:00):
do you do coping mechanisms? What are some of your
the tools of the trade that you do.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
So we have.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Usually most of it's done by me. We have called
in through our EAP program, I someone to help in
a group session because it was such a large event
that we wanted more support than just myself. Otherwise, when
something happens on a floor that was impactful, I'll go
(28:31):
in and offer some group sessions if that's what they want,
or make myself more present for them. So even if
they don't want to talk about it now, they might
want to talk about it later, or they just know
someone cared enough to show up. So that's a big
part of it. For the individual sessions. I do a
lot of cognitive behavior therapy, and what that does is
(28:55):
it helps the individuals identify and kind of challenge their
rational as thoughts and believe. We also do a lot
I say we I do a lot of acceptance and
commitment therapy, which focuses on accepting uncomfortable thoughts and feelings
rather than controlling them. Part of that is radical acceptance,
(29:16):
where it doesn't mean you have to like it necessarily,
but you accept it for what it is, because we
can't control everything.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
And we can't always change things. And then for the trauma,
I use em DR therapy, which is I.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Movement desensitization reprocessing quite a bit. That is a phenomenal
modality that I feel like is under used in the
trauma world.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
Yeah, I actually want to talk a lot about that,
So I'm gonna I'm going to ask you to kind
of hold on on that till we come back from
our next break. But before we do go to the break,
if there was if there was an administrator or any
type of administrator from a healthcare system listening to this
show and saying and hearing you, what would you say
(30:02):
to them? What should administrations be thinking about and trying
to do to improve this situation?
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Well, from a cost basive basis perspective, my salary is
covered if one nurse does not leave for a year.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
M that's an amazing number.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Amazing Yes, the cost of retraining and all the things
necessary to if one nurse leaves, it's it's my salary
is covered if that one nurse stay.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
And it's amazing to think about it in that parameter.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Yes, because it's just such it's so costly when we
lose medical state people.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yeah, exactly right.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
So that's one thing right there.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
But also the culture of the departments of the hospital
as a whole can improve so much by bringing in
people that are there just to show that we care.
I don't bring any funding into the hospital short of
cost savings by not losing people.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
We don't build for anything I do. But the culture
is better.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Because the viewpoint from a mental health professional, we look
at things a little differently, and we can help educate
management peers on how to communicate with each other so
that they're happier to be there. And then that carries
over to how happy the patience can be because they
(31:42):
don't want to hear arguments outside the room. They don't
want to have someone come in and take care of them.
That's frustrated because of what's going on outside of their room.
So it's beneficial to the whole community by taking care
of the staff and their mental health.
Speaker 4 (32:00):
Well, let's hope that people are listening to this because
that was well said and we will all benefit from it.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
We're going to take our.
Speaker 4 (32:07):
Final break right now and we're going to talk a
little bit about trauma and your expertise in that area
when we come back. This is centered on help with
Baptist Help. Here on news radio eight forty WHS. I'm
your host, doctor Jeff Helvin. We're talking with Elizabeth Davis.
Remember to download the iHeartRadio app and re listen to
this or any of our previous segments to have access
to all of the other features the app has to offer.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
Welcome back to Cenate on Help with Baptist Help. Here
on news radio eight forty WHS. I'm your host, doctor
Jeff Telvin. We're talking tonight with Elizabeth Davis. I want
to remind you to download the iHeartRadio app. It's free,
it's easy to use, and it gives you access to
tonight's show and all this excellent information. So, Elizabeth, in
the last segment that we have here, I want to
(33:06):
switch gears a little bit to another area that I
know that you are extremely experienced in, which is trauma,
and I just kind of want to mention that we
are going to be talking a little bit about trauma
if that might be hard for people to listen to.
But can you tell us how do you define trauma?
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Like what does that mean?
Speaker 3 (33:31):
Well, there's different kinds of trauma you've got, Like you're
a cute trauma, which is just I don't want to
say just that, but it's a single event that has
impacted you. Chronic trauma is when there's been repeated exposure
to trauma.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
So that might be like abuse.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
Or things like that that continuously occur. Complex traumas and
you've got multiple chronic traumatic events that have occurred. And
then you've got your secondary trauma, which is kind of
where you're getting exposed to those stories or experiences of
others they impact you significantly.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
So a great example of that, you know, would be.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Our EMS teams when they're seeing what other people are
going through on an.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
The rest, so that that's them kind of having responses
to what they're kind of being exposed to on their job.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Yes, got it.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
And that's not just healthcare people, right, people are court.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Appointed special advocates.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
They deal with trauma when they're work or secondary trauma
when they're working with the children in the community.
Speaker 4 (34:50):
So does that so you know, because bad things happen,
and bad things happen to all of us when it
becomes an incident that something bad has but then it
becomes something traumatic for the individual.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Is it something that happens in their mind that makes
it that?
Speaker 4 (35:11):
Is it a core did they start believing something like
as a internal belief that other people that don't experience
the trauma trauma chronically do? Like why does one become
chronically and affected and someone else might not?
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Or do we not know the answer to that?
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Well, there's been studies to look at that.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
There's been some like twin studies where twins have experienced
similar things but respond differently to them, because we all
respond differently to similar situations. So in research, looking at
the twins gives the better idea if it's your DNA
or if it's environmental factor, And really it's kind of both.
So some people are more inclined to be affected by
(35:58):
the trauma than others. Or it could be how where
you were in life when it happened. Yet I can't
quite give you an exect answer, right.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
But you did talk about the E M D R.
Speaker 4 (36:14):
And I apologize I kind of cut that a little
bit short because I wanted to say that, but I
know that that's an interesting thing that you do.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Can you tell us a little bit about what that is.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Yeah, So E M d R is kind of targeting
those negative leaps you mentioned. They are results of those
traumatic events, So you might start believing that you're not
good enough or that you didn't do enough, and we
can target.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Those because that impacts how you live.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
If you're going through life thinking you're not good enough,
you're not going to be super successful in things because
you're going to doubt yourself.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
It can really impair your functioning.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
So with the e M d R, we start off
with some coping mechanisms, some regulation techniques, and then I
kind of call it voodoo when I'm working with people
to explain it because it's so effective, but it's weird.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
But with EMDR, what you do is you access to
your memories of the traumatic event, and we do this
in specific ways, and then we.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
Combine that with some eye movements and some guided instruction
through me and we access those memories to help you
process or reprocess what actually occurred from the event, and
that reprocessing helps you repair the mental injury that occurred
as a result of that event. So then you also
(37:44):
start kind of remembering what happened in a different way.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
You don't forget what.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
Happened, it's just you're no longer feeling it like you're
reliving it. It's a memory then, and it's more manageable
at that point.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
So then it helps re do those.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
Negative core beliefs about yourself, and we tried to bring
in some positive core beliefs.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
I love that description of it being like a core belief,
and I also really like the way you said, how
you know you're not telling a patient that it didn't
happen or that they you know they can't have been
upset by it, but how to deal with that and
to be more functional with it?
Speaker 2 (38:24):
How successful is that?
Speaker 4 (38:26):
I mean, how long does it take to do something
like that and to see the positive results from it.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
With well, one example, I utilized it on the floor
with someone right after a death.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
It was pretty traumatic for a staff member, and it.
Speaker 3 (38:42):
Took for less than five minutes for them to be
able to walk away in a much better headspace.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
For more traumatic events that occurred in childhood.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
It might take several sessions and a session of that
can last maybe thirty minutes, but we're not talking the
years of therapy that it takes with your typical talk therapy.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
I mean when you said five minutes, that literally like
blew me away hearing that. Well, Oliva, thank you so
much for sharing so much information. I mean, it is
obvious that what you're doing is just at the beginning
and you're outreaching not only to our staff but to
our community, and we appreciate everything you're doing. I hope
you get lots of help doing it. Sounds like you're
(39:27):
doing a lot on your own. Well that is going
to do it. For tonight's segment of Setting on Health
with Baptist Health, I'm your host, doctor Jeff Tublin, and
I want to.
Speaker 2 (39:35):
Thank our guest Elizabeth Davis.
Speaker 4 (39:37):
I want to thank our producer mister Jim Benn, and
of course you all for listening every week. Join us
every Thursday night for another segment. I hope everybody, everybody
has a healthy and happy rest of your week. If
(40:00):
this program is for informational purposes only and should not
be relied upon as medical advice, the content of this
program is not intended to be a substitute for professional
medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
This show is not designed to replace a physician's medical
assessment and medical judgment.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
Always seek the advice of your physician with any questions
or concerns you may.
Speaker 2 (40:20):
Have related to your personal health or regarding specific medical conditions.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
To find a Baptist health provider, please visit Baptistealth dot com.
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