Everyone experiences loss and other personal trauma, but those of us who work in health care are obliged to cope with our own personal grief and stress as well as witness the suffering and pain of our patients. Do these words ever describe you at the end of a shift at work?

” . . . angry . . . anxious . . . hopeless . . . stressed . . . depleted . . . depressed . . . frazzled . . . “

One health system gets serious.

There’s a lot of talk these days about addressing clinicians’ burnout, and in some workplaces staff now are offered a meditation room, or aromatherapy or massage.

But since 2013, Montefiore Health System in Bronx, New York, has seriously invested in their staff’s mental and emotional health by offering a two-day, off-site experiential and educational workshop twice a year. And by paying for the program, retreat center, and meals for all participants so that staff can attend for free.

In “Helping Care Providers and Staff Process Grief Through a Hospital-Based Program” in the July issue of AJN, Ronit Fallek and colleagues share their experiences in developing this program along with their analysis of feedback about its effectiveness. They offer enough detail to confirm the success of this investment in their staff and to help other organizations duplicate their efforts.

Staff experiences of this intensive two-day program, in their own words.

The authors share what they’ve learned about how people feel about opening up in front of colleagues, what it was like to attend an overnight off-site program with coworkers, and exactly what people got out of the program.

“It helped me process the immediate grief that stemmed from [a great personal loss] [and] address the general trauma and ‘baggage’ I had. It’s helped me to be more present in my day-to-day [life] . . . and just be better equipped at self-care and the stress of life.”

Read the article to learn more about this compassionate program. CE credit is also available; the article is free to read.