The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Healthcare Practitioners Research and Practice

Explore this innovative new volume covering the growing mental health crisis amongst healthcare practitioners

In The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Healthcare Practitioners, accomplished researchers and authors Esther Murray and Jo Brown deliver an insightful exploration of the theoretical and practical aspects of implementing mental health improvement within the healthcare system through a range of practical examples and cases.

The book also explores the possibilities available to professionals to talk about their mental health using “borrowed” words and concepts, and uncovers structural and social concerns that prevent practitioners from accessing the time and space they need to address their mental health concerns.

Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of topics such as:

• Borrowed words in emergency medicine and how moral injury makes spaces for talking
• Finding a voice through medical student engagement in creative enquiry
• Using language and discourse to explore queer identities in medicine
• Stress and mental wellbeing in emergency medical dispatchers and paramedics

Perfect for healthcare students, professionals, and researchers in the fields of medicine, medical education, psychology, and sociology, The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Healthcare Practitioners will also earn a place in the libraries of healthcare management professionals and regulators.

Esther Murray has thirteen years of experience as a health psychologist and was the first researcher in the United Kingdom to explore the concept of moral injury in medicine. She is a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences for healthcare professionals, educators, and students. 

Jo Brown is Professor Emerita of Medical Education at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London. She has been teaching since 1992 and has specialised in Clinical Communication since 1998. She is a recipient of the prestigious National Teaching Fellowship award from Advance HE. 

Editor Biography ix

List of Contributors x

Introduction xi

Part 1 Research 1

Chapter 1 Borrowed Words in Emergency Medicine: How ‘Moral Injury’ Makes Space for Talking 3
Esther Murray

Context 3

Description 9

Future Directions for Research and Intervention 11

References 12

Chapter 2 What Does Creative Enquiry Have to Contribute to Flourishing in Medical Education? 14
Louise Younie

Context 14

Description 16

What I Learnt 17

Student Dialogue with Patients 17

Student Dialogue with Each Other 18

Student Dialogue with Themselves 20

Future Directions 21

References 24

Chapter 3 Embracing Difference: Towards an Understanding of Queer Identities in Medicine 28
Helen Bintley and Jo Winning

Context 28

Locating the Problem 28

Being a Body 29

‘Unspeakable Things Unspoken’: Linguistic Vulnerability and the Body 30

Description 33

Challenging Values and Questioning Norms: The Medical Curriculum as Discourse 33

Future Directions 34

Towards Change 34

Notes 37

References 38

Chapter 4 Stress and Mental Well-Being in Emergency Medical Dispatchers 41
Astrid Coxon

Context 41

Description 42

Future Directions 49

References 51

Chapter 5 Paramedics’ Lived Experiences of Post-Incident Traumatic Distress and Psychosocial Support: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study 54
Joanne Mildenhall

Distress 57

Ambivalence of Talking 60

Informal and Formal Support at Work 62

Support Outside of Work 63

Discussion 64

Limitations of the Study 68

Conclusion 68

Conflicts of Interest 69

References 69

Part 2 Practice 73

Chapter 6 On Knowing, Not Knowing and Well-Being: Conversations About Practice 75
Clare Morris

Introduction 75

Context 76

Professional Learning and Well-Being 76

Organisational Culture, Learning and Well-Being 77

Implications for Educational Practice 79

Learning from Mistakes 79

Learning Through Questioning 81

Learning Through Debrief and Feedback 82

Concluding Comments 85

References 85

Chapter 7 The Complex Issues that Lead to Nurses Leaving the Emergency Department 88
Imogen Skene

Context 88

Increasing Pressure 88

Nursing Shortages 88

Workforce Retention 89

Well-being 89

Description 90

Exit Interviews 90

Why Do Nurses Leave the ED? 91

Stress 91

Burnout 91

Moral Injury 92

Debrief 93

Culture 94

Shift Work 94

Career Progression and Development 95

Lifestyle Changes 95

Future Directions 96

References 97

Chapter 8 How Do We Protect Our Healthcare Workers from the Occupational Hazard that Nobody Talks About? 100
Matthew Walton

Acknowledgements 106

References 106

Chapter 9 What is peer support? Co-Creating a Programme 109
Rebecca Connolly, Esther Murray, Andrea James,

Liz Harris and Bernice Hancox

Context 109

Introduction 109

Fitness to Practise (FtP) 111

Peer Support 112

Co-Creating the Programme – What Our Peer Support Entails 113

Experiences of Becoming Part of the Peer Support Programme – What Motivates Us? 114

Bernice Hancox – Paramedic and Psychotherapist 114

Rebecca Connolly – Advanced Clinical Practitioner and Advanced Paramedic 114

Esther Murray – Health Psychologist 115

Liz Harris – Head of Professional Standards, College of Paramedics 116

Andrea James – Solicitor 117

Future Directions 117

References 118

Part 3 Intervention 121

Chapter 10 The Theatre Wellbeing Project – Evolution From Major Incident to Pandemic 123
Tony Allnatt

Context 123

Description 125

Future Directions 129

COVID- 19 – A Post Pandemic Update 131

Chapter 11 RUOK? RU Sure UR OK?? 136
Gail Topping and Ruth Anderson

Context 136

Description 137

Future Directions 139

Reference 139

Chapter 12 The Story and the Storyteller 140
Rusty

Chapter 13 Death and Disability Meetings at London’s Air Ambulance: Working in a Just Culture 146
Danë Goodsman and Tsz Lun Ernest Wong

Context 146

LAA – The Organisation 146

Just Culture – Some Insights 147

Description 148

D&D Case Reviews 149

Extract One 150

Extract 2 151

Experiencing D&D 153

Moving Forward 154

Notes 154

References 155

Index 158

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