Child Abuse Pediatrics Fellow Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Texas, United States
Background: Secondary traumatic stress (STS) describes the emotional response when one witnesses or experiences the trauma of another. STS among medical providers contributes to burnout and compassion fatigue, yet there is no formal training in the navigation of STS in standard medical education. Child Abuse Pediatrics (CAP) offers an elective rotation to medical students. Due to the nature of patient encounters in this field, there is increased risk that learners may experience STS on the rotation, prompting the need to equip students with management strategies for the secondary trauma they may encounter on the rotation and contend with in the rest of their medical training and career. Objective: We aim to qualitatively compare students’ attitudes toward the CAP rotation experience before and after implementation of a new STS educational curriculum. Design/Methods: The STS model, Components for Enhancing Clinician Experience and Reducing Trauma (CE-CERT), developed by Psychologist Dr. Brian Miller, was converted into a 90-minute discussion-based educational curriculum to be administered by the CAP fellow once during the CAP elective rotation. Components of the curriculum include emotional engagement, skills in reducing rumination and emotional labor, evaluating our conscious narrative, and resetting the parasympathetic nervous system. Since the elective's inception, all rotating students have been required to write a reflection essay at the end of their rotation. Essays written by students completing their CAP rotation both before and after implementation of STS curriculum were de-identified and coded individually and then collaboratively by three analysts who were blinded to group during coding. Coding continued until consensus of thematic saturation was reached. Analysts were then un-blinded for comparing and contrasting themes and tone between groups using framework approach. Coding has been completed and between group comparison is projected to be completed by January 2024. IRB approval was obtained at our institution.
