Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: An ED Doctor's Quest to Destigmatize and Seek Treatment in a Post-pandemic World

Our work has always placed ED physicians at high risk for PTSD. The events of the past two years have exposed many of our colleagues to large-scale traumatic events that have overwhelmed our coping mechanisms. In this session, I hope to utilize my own experiences with pandemic-related PTSD to provide a practical approach to processing work-related trauma. We will discuss how to spot PTSD symptoms, current treatments and how to locate resources. Our training provides an excellent education in compartmentalizing, but the tools needed to process experiences in a healthy way aren't as effective. When yoga and meditation aren't cutting it anymore, what steps can you take to get back to enjoying the rewarding career you worked so hard for? Physician, heal thyself.