ESCT: Personal trauma and the community nurse

Trauma in the personal life of a professional has the potential to affect their work. This may particularly be the case for nurses, considering they come face to face regularly with people whose experiences could trigger the same traumatic memories, and possibly even interfere with their ability to care.

When a nurse experiences a personal injury or illness, or even the illness or death of a loved one, this is likely to have an effect on the care they are able to provide to patients, especially those going through similar situations. This is not to say that the effect will necessarily be negative. There is perhaps no better empathy than the genuine understanding of having experienced a similar situation to your patients or their families first-hand.

However, if a personal experience resulting in emotional trauma has not been effectively resolved, it could rear its head when a similar situation arises