An Introduction to Trauma-Informed Practice (FD11NOV25)

Doctors and dentists hold a unique position, they are both at the frontline treating the public, and have a vital role in training the next generation of healthcare professionals. Looking after these healthcare professionals, both in terms of clinical training and wellbeing is crucial for staff retention, staff satisfaction and patient safety. The importance of healthcare professional wellbeing has become even more critical in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the NHS staff survey 2022, 35.3% of medical and dental staff reported feeling burnt out due to their work. A report published in 2022 from the UKRI and the Economic & Social research council ‘estimates that the financial cost to the NHS of poor wellbeing at £12.1 billion a year’. The have been numerous initiatives, reports, recommendations; however, none have focused on psychological trauma. Training and working in the NHS exposes healthcare professionals to psychological trauma – and this has a direct impact on mental & physical wellbeing as well as impacting communication, teamwork and ability to lead. By understanding how what psychological trauma is and how to recognise it, we can do something about it. This is something that can be taught and can have profound impacts on the individual as well as having a ripple effect impact on those surrounding that person.

Booking Courses

Please ensure that you check your availability before booking a place and add the booking to your diary / calendar. Please ensure that you also book the relevant study leave in advance with your employer.

Please refrain from booking multiple instances of the same course or course type to ensure that places are available to your colleagues. If a course is full, please add yourself to the waiting list and you will receive a notification if a place becomes available.

Joining Instructions

This is a virtual course, the joining instructions for the virtual meeting will be added to the documents section (above) before the course. Please ensure that you are able to access this before the course so that you are ready to join on the day.

Booking cancellation

Participants must make every effort to attend courses they have booked. If your availability changes after booking, please cancel your place through Maxcourse as soon as possible. This will release the place for colleagues on the waiting list.

If you need to cancel within 1 week of the course or the course has started and you are not able to attend, please email england.lsfdcourses.yh@nhs.net to give your apologies.

This course is only available to Educational Supervisors, Education Leads, Training Programme Directors and Senior Faculty within Yorkshire and the Humber.

Mandatory: Dentist, or Doctor, or Public Health Professional

By taking a trauma informed approach we begin to understand that many behaviours exhibited by our trainees and peers are in fact because of psychological trauma. For example, those who struggle to say no and never seem to leave work; those who struggle to receive constructive criticism well; those who do not work well in a team; those who find it difficult to ask for help even when they are clearly working beyond their level. When we can recognise why these behaviours arise, we can do something about them. The changes we can model and implement as clinical leaders will have positive repercussions to all around us, leading to not only better mental and physical wellbeing, but also job satisfaction and patient outcomes.

· To begin to understand psychological trauma and its relevance to healthcare professionals.

· To start to recognise the signs and behaviours of psychological trauma.

· To start to view wellbeing through a trauma-informed lens.