Healthcare Provider Happy Hour: Working in Healthcare with PTSD: A Nurses’ Perspective on Managing Mental Illness with RN and Author, Marcie Resendes
In this week’s episode, I am joined by Marcie Resendes, Registered Nurse and Author of, ‘If The Brain Could Stop What The Eyes have Seen.’ Marcie shares her story of overcoming being diagnosed with PTSD, how she lives with it and manages it day to day. We also discuss methods of how we can protect ourselves against burnout, leading to mental illness, and overwhelm in the workforce.
About Marcie: “I am a 42-year-old wife, mother to three beautiful children ages 17, 15 and 6. I am a Registered Nurse and proud to say I have been for 21 1⁄2 years. The nursing school Diploma Program at St. Clair College was a struggle, but I had a strong heart and passion to be a nurse; a good kick in the butt from my dad when I was 19 pushed me through.
During the summer of 1998, I volunteered at the Pelee Island Medical Clinic. I worked beside two wonderful nurses who allowed me to observe clinics, minor traumas, and what nursing in an isolated area is. I witnessed head injuries after drunken falls, fractures of bones, sprains and strains, as well as general labs and medical check ups. I loved the opportunity to gain this experience in nursing. It was totally different than at the hospital. I was able to observe how a team (EMS, Police,and Nursing) work together to get the job done. June 18, 1999 was the day my dreams came true: I graduated on the Principal’s Honour Roll. Finally I could do what I had strived to do: take care of the sick and make them well.
Growing up I had been raised to treat the janitor with the same respect as the CEO of the company. I was told that each team member in a company has a vital job to do each and every day to keep the company running. Little did I know that after 19 1⁄2 years of caring for the sick, wounded, critically injured, dying and mentally unstable would leave me with wounds unrecognizable to the human eye. I attended an appointment with my Nurse Practitioner on January 10, 2019, that’s when my life changed. I thought I was having a simple return to work appointment after a bout of influenza the week before, but it turned out to be so much more. When Bonnie the Nurse Practitioner walked in and observed me, her first statement changed my whole life: “You Have PTSD”.
Tune in to this week’s episode to learn:
- What signs she noticed when something was wrong & what actions she took
- How to incorporate self-care not only to your home life but to your work life
- What made her decide to write her book and the impact it’s had on others
- How we can better the well-being of providers in healthcare
- An example of the ABC method: Activating, Belief system and Consequence
- How to manage the Fight, Flight or Freeze scenario
Grab your drink of choice and join the conversation!
Resources
Website: https://marcieresendesbook.ca/
Instagram: @marcieresendes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcie.resendes.1
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This episode originally aired on February 1, 2022 on the Healthcare Provider Happy Hour. Follow, listen and subscribe for updates.
