According to the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the majority of people who have survived Intensive Care Unit (ICU) hospitalizations go on to develop significant and disabling psychological and neurocognitive disorders. Despite this, little action has been taken to reduce or mitigate the trauma that occurs in the ICU and across the inpatient spectrum of critical illness; as such, there is a great deal of room for social workers to step into a supportive role for patients and families along the inpatient spectrum of critical illness.
Join us on Friday, July 29 at 1pm – 4pm PT for an educational workshop! This course explores how social workers can use trauma-informed care to identify, reduce, and mitigate potentially traumatic events in the ICU and strategies to transition patients and their families into step-down units across hospital settings and prepare them for discharge. The participants will also discuss how trauma-informed care maps onto currently accepted evidence-based ICU medicine with the goal of getting buy-in from other members of the ICU team (physicians, nurses, respiratory, and rehabilitation therapists). The content incorporates short lectures from a professor of social work and a nationally recognized patient advocate, discussions, and role-playing exercises.
At the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify commonly overlooked traumas and stressors that affect critically ill patients and their families in the ICU and other hospital settings
- Explain the importance of trauma-informed care in these settings
- Assess for psycho-social-medical risks and protective factors, including intersectional demographics and social identities, that may affect patient and their families experiencing critical illness in hospital settings
- Describe and discuss medical, psychological, and social interventions developed to reduce delirium and other consequences of critical illness in the ICU and across the spectrum of inpatient hospital care
- Implement trauma-informed evidence-based social work strategies to improve patient and family coping and grounding skills and mitigate related complicated health-related outcomes
- Communicate and explain these concepts and strategies to patients, families, and others on the interdisciplinary care team
About the Speaker:
Dr. Jennifer L. Kenney is currently an Assistant Professor in the Division of Social Work at California State University, Sacramento. She obtained her masters’ degrees in social work and public health from the University of Minnesota. Prior to obtaining her PhD from the School of Social Work at Columbia University, she worked in the field as a social worker in community hospitals, correctional facilities, and substance use treatment facilities. Before moving to California, Jennifer spent five years in the University of Alabama’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice and School of Social Work. Jennifer continues to focus on teaching and research in the areas of trauma, disability, gender, substance use, inequity, and social justice at Sac State. Felt Bio: Hali Felt combines her expertise as a science writer, former professor of creative writing, and survivor of critical illness to communicate with healthcare workers, legislators, and the public about critical illness and its aftermath. As a member of the executive board of the Critical and Acute Illness Recovery Organization, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s Patient and Family Committee, she advocates for patients, survivors of critical illness, and their families. She is currently working on a book about her experiences in and after the ICU called Extracorporeal.
Fees:
- NASW Member: $30
- Nonmember: $45
- Student: $15
Please contact Mario Espitia at mespitia.naswca@socialworkers.org.
A downloadable PDF flyer is available here.
