Sadie Elisseou

Title : Trauma-informed clinical care: Fostering healing and resilience

Abstract:

The Covid-19 pandemic and national movements for health equity over the past few years have highlighted the impact of trauma on health as well as on provider well-being. Rates of depression and anxiety in the U.S. have climbed above 40%, and burnout rates among clinicians are reaching 60%. In this ripe climate, trauma-informed care (TIC) a rapidly growing social movement. TIC is an evidence-based, strategic framework for providing high-quality clinical care to survivors of individual, interpersonal, collective and structural trauma. Entire public school districts and healthcare systems are becoming trauma-informed, and Oprah’s new book, “What Happened To You?” is firmly rooted in TIC principles. Internet searches for “trauma” have never been higher, and yet TIC remains novel to most clinical nursing professionals. 
In this session, a top expert in the field will highlight specific examples of how nurses can apply the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service (SAMHSA)’s “4 Rs” and “6 principles” of TIC to daily clinical care and their own well-being. Participants will leave with simple, actionable steps to ensure that the care we provide is safe, collaborative, and avoids retraumatizing our patients.

Audience Take Away Notes:

• Define trauma and the principles of trauma-informed care
• Practice using trauma-informed communication for routine clinical encounters
• Describe components of a trauma-informed physical assessment
• Define vicarious trauma and name strategies for resilience

Participants will come away with simple, specific, actionable items that they can implement immediately when taking care of patients. These strategies come from published and award-winning research that has already been implemented at medical schools and healthcare institutions across the United States. There is vast potential to expand upon these principles for implementation in various sectors and specialties of healthcare. Trauma-informed care is a form of patient-centered care that can enhance both patient and health worker safety, empowerment, and satisfaction. 

Biography:

Sadie Elisseou, MD (she/her) is a primary care physician in the VA Boston Healthcare System, a Clinical Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Adjunct Instructor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, and a nationally recognized expert in the field of trauma-informed care (TIC). Dr. Elisseou's award-winning curriculum on ‘trauma-informed physical examination’ is now taught at medical schools across the country. Dr. Elisseou partnered with colleagues to publish the first framework on trauma-informed telehealth. She is the co-founder of the National Veterans’ Health Administration TIC Collaborative and a member of the Harvard Medical School TIC Steering Committee.