Healthcare professionals throughout the country are still struggling with the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. From mental health issues to high burnout rates, healthcare professionals are in need of relief from the profound effects of one of the most catastrophic events of our generation. Now more than ever, it’s vital for healthcare professionals to hone and practice compassion resiliency to help them cope with their everyday work. As a continuation of our mission to promote hope, healing, and resiliency through trauma-informed practices, Resilient Lehigh Valley hosted a workshop sponsored by Lehigh Valley Health Network in partnership with Shanthi Project, Fostering Compassion Resilience in Health Care.
Compassion resiliency is the ability to maintain physical, emotional, and mental well-being while responding compassionately to the suffering of others. Organizations that focus on fostering compassion resilience in the workplace often experience reduced staff turnover, increased employee satisfaction and productivity, improved staff morale, and better patient outcomes.
Area healthcare industry leaders participated in Fostering Compassion Resilience in Health Care. It focused on the concept of compassion resiliency, its significance, and how it could be implemented within their own teams. The participants were educated on topics such as secondary and vicarious trauma, traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, and self-care. The discussion also included exploring reasons behind personal and organizational compassion fatigue. The most important aspect of the event was sharing effective strategies for how leaders could minimize the drivers of compassion fatigue and burnout and instead foster compassion resilience within individuals, teams, and their organizations as a whole.
After the workshop, the organizers evaluated its impact. According to a survey, 90% of the participants felt that they acquired a better understanding of how to promote compassion resilience. Additionally, 94% were confident about the information provided in the Compassion Resilience Toolkit and its potential in combating compassion fatigue while enhancing compassion resilience in their respective organizations/teams/department. All participants agreed that the training facilitators were knowledgeable, professional, and engaging and created an environment that made it easy for them to share honest feedback and experiences. Furthermore, 90% of the participants intend to utilize the resources and activities from the Toolkit to promote compassion resilience in their workplace.
When asked to express their key takeaway from the training workshop, one participant emphasized “the importance of upper management to accept [compassion resilience] as a culture in the workplace and encouraging [compassion resilience] during work time.”
Thank you to Lehigh Valley Health Network for sponsoring the workshop and to Shanthi Project for leading the training session.
