The Ida Institute’s newest Learning Hall course, Clinician Well-being: The Science of Self-care, launched April 25, 2022. This four-part course addresses causes and remedies for such things as vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout.
Hearing care professionals have the privilege of being part of their clients’ hearing care journeys. But sometimes, professionals inadvertently take on their clients’ distress over hearing challenges or other things discussed in appointments. On top of that, they face caseload challenges, business pressures, and environmental influences, which all add further stress. If clinicians are not aware and prepared, they are at risk of professional fatigue.
Self-care Allows for Better Care of Others
This course, taught by Dunay Schmulian, PhD, helps hearing care professionals exercise self-care for their own well-being. It explores the various forms of professional fatigue: vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout, and identifies their early warning signs. By the end of the course, learners will be able to develop their own professional fatigue warning scale, a self-care strategy, and a framework for debriefing within a clinical setting.
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“While most of our resources focus on the needs of people with hearing loss, we know that burnout, stress, and other forms of professional fatigue are an ongoing concern for both employers and employees across industries,” says Ida Managing Director Lise-Lotte Bundesen. “This course looks specifically at the risks and remedies of professional fatigue in a hearing care setting and gives clinicians the tools to evaluate their own needs and make self-care a part of their daily lives. Because we can’t help others if we don’t first look after ourselves.
The course is structured in four parts:
- Risk factors for clinician well-being
- Making empathy conscious
- Tools and strategies of self-care
- Debriefing in the clinical setting
Clinician Well-being: The Science of Self-care is taught by Dunay Schmulian, PhD, Director of Audiology at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Queensland, Australia. Dr Schmulian is the former Chair of Wellness and Culture at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Queensland and a Women in STEMM Fellowship recipient. Her research focuses on the lived experience of patients and clinicians engaged in life-changing health conditions.
To view Clinician Well-being and all the Learning Hall courses, create a free account on the Ida Website at: https://idainstitute.com/login/.
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