that place and how to propel yourself out of that place so we can a ) do the work that we know we ’ re going to have to do , and b ) make sure that we ’ re taking care of ourselves .”
As burnout began morphing into a more serious trauma response , Peterson Regional brought in a trauma counselor . Starr reports , “ She comes in two to four days a week , depending on what ’ s going on and what the needs are . She comes up sometimes at 10 o ’ clock at night and stays until two or three in the morning to work with our night staff . They all have her cell phone numbers . She ’ s got magnets around all of the departments , all of the patient units , because it ’ s not just that frontline staff that needs her help . Our staff can text her or meet with her in-person if they need to have a de-brief session .”
Kingman Regional also has implemented a full push to support staff . Pastoral care staff is doing regular rounding . Zoom sessions are available as needed with psychiatric experts , and meditation areas have been created within the hospital .
Training needs have also been adapted to fit the new environment . One surprise during the pandemic in both hospitals has been the experience of new nurses who have started their careers since the pandemic began . During their nurse residency programs , new staff began expressing concern about their ability to do “ normal ” nursing since all of their experience had been in the COVID-19 era . For exam-
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