Speakers
Workshop Session
Persons who are justice-involved often present with complex social and healthcare needs in the setting of complex justice systems. The correctional healthcare staff in which they interact have the potential to develop secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. While the three terms are conceptually different, all three have the potential to negatively impact staff wellbeing and quality of life. When experienced over time, they can have profound physical, emotional, spiritual and professional effects on the functioning of the team member experiencing them. Leaders of correctional systems that employ healthcare staff can prevent compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout by creating work environments that foster a culture of teamwork between correctional and healthcare disciplines and positive peer relationships. Interventions that cultivate a sense of self-awareness and teach skills in building resilience and positive coping mechanisms provide means for recognizing secondary traumatic stress, addressing compassion fatigue, and preventing burnout.