There are many warning signs. Your personal hygiene goes by the wayside. You start sabotaging your relationships. You cry a lot, or not at all. You re sick a lot, calling in, missing shifts, not carrying your workload.
Some individuals become withdrawn or cynical.
A nurse might shift to a position distanced from patient care or leave nursing altogether. Those who see themselves in this litany of symptoms should seek help. Chaplains accompany the cart, known as Tea for the Soul, so the staff has someone to talk to. At Baylor, the trauma and chaplain departments run a Critical Incident Stress Management program. Trained staff members coordinate post-incident debriefings in which staffers talk about how it affected them.