Trauma-Informed Care: Moving from Awareness to Action (W6040)-Trauma-Informed Care Moving from Awareness to Action Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Susie Brannigan, a nurse and healthcare consultant, shared how trauma affects patients and healthcare workers, drawing on her experiences in acute care, pediatric intensive care, and leadership. She described the lasting impact of repeated exposure to suffering and loss, including vicarious trauma and PTSD, and emphasized that staff need support after difficult events—not simply another assignment.<br /><br />The presentation covered common trauma responses, including fight, flight, freeze, dissociation, hyperarousal, withdrawal, and physical symptoms such as exhaustion, sleep disruption, and gastrointestinal distress. Brannigan encouraged caregivers to look for patterns and consider what a person may have experienced, rather than labeling behavior as “difficult” or “noncompliant.” Trauma affects everyone differently, and triggers may be unexpected.<br /><br />Practical trauma-informed care includes creating physical and psychological safety, communicating transparently, offering choices, asking permission before touching or providing care, explaining each step, and minimizing unnecessary stimulation or people at the bedside. She also urged healthcare teams to use respectful, strength-based language in documentation and handoffs, since judgmental language can shape future care and damage trust.<br /><br />Trauma-informed practice must extend to staff and organizational culture. Leaders can foster peer support, psychological safety, and appropriate opportunities to pause and recover. Brannigan concluded that training alone is not enough: organizations must demonstrate trauma-informed values through everyday behaviors, policies, and measurable improvements. She urged attendees to slow down, protect their own capacity, and identify one change they can make to support patients, colleagues, and themselves.

Keywords

trauma-informed care

vicarious trauma

PTSD

healthcare workers

patient safety

psychological safety

dissociation

hyperarousal

strength-based language

peer support