I gave a little talk today about Resilience #WEM19 @extremeexpo so I thought I would give a little 'twittercast' of it for those not at the conference since I think there are some important messages to share.

In the past I wouldn't be comfortable talking about a personal topic like this. However, people like @DrMattWalton & @TonyTone17 who inspire me both professionally and personally make me realize it is important for those in privileged positions such as I to take risks & speak out

The terminology about the topic I was speaking is still quite poorly defined, at least in my mind @EM_HealthPsych is doing some great work exploring this

My journey began with self-awareness thanks to @docpgb and a session he gave @CriticalCareCA, which shocked me given I saw myself as passionate, caring, and driven but didn't see these very things put me at risk for burnout

Despite being 'high risk' I jumped both feet "out of the frying pan and into the fire" moving to the UK to do HEMS

Joining @LDNairamb led me to meet @policecommander who's book Blue ( https://policecommander.wordpress.com/blue-a-memoir/ ) helped me to understand the "every contact leaves a trace"

Despite 'being in the fire' the protective factors of HEMS and understanding myself better my 'burnout' score actually decreased dramatically

The impact this has on people in the caring professions is all around us, impact on paramedics:

Impact in hospitals...

even in 'adventure medics'

and what about the future generations...the @DrMattWalton's of the world

these are the reasons I speak out about this!

What can drive resilience for individuals?
1. Strength
2. Awareness
3. Failure
4. Reflection
5. Vulnerability

Although individuals shouldn't be left on their own to do this....that isn't fair.

Most importantly organizations, and those leading them need to treat employees with compassion & develop a culture that supports not only mental well-being but patient safety, quality & performance. They all go hand in hand, and impact the bottom line.

There are some great initiatives underway. It is important for people to be aware of the issues of primary vs secondary stressors and what we as leaders and organizations can do to impact secondary stressors to help promote employee mental health. Leadership matters!

The latest initiative led by @DobbieAnna & Frank Chege on behalf of @LDNairamb and @cbukhelp

Thanks for taking the time to read this, it has been a pleasure to collaborate on this work with @DrMattWalton

A few resources for those who would like to speak with someone...