N479 Professional Activity Evaluation Form

Your Name: Ray Alvarado

Date of Activity: Feb 10th 2016

Faculty name:

Describethecommunity service/professional activity/s you attended or participated with

(bespecifc about thepurposeand your role):
The purpose of this professional activity was to inform the community about the dangers of
stress associated with first responders and healthcare workers. When stress is allowed to
cumulate, mental heath concerns begin to develop among those affected. For example, a study
found that five core areas where most officers fail are addictive issues, behavioral health,
physical health, personality issues and family-relationships. This activity gave insight to combat
the mental and emotional discomforts that a first responder has to deal with. This topic is
particularly important for those in the healthcare field due to the various disease processes that
have the potential to reduce the quality of life and shorten life expectancy. Practicing resiliency
skills promote the use of different coping mechanisms that could mitigate the long term effects
of stressful events.
During the activity, 6 skills were presented to combat stress. These skills are as follows: Goal
setting, Relaxation, Perspective/view, Self-Defeating Thoughts, Empathy and Social Support.
Techniques to facilitate the use of these skills were promoted with the intent that they will
provide some protection during stressful events.
Wherewas this held and what was was program/activity length?
The activity was held in the College of Nursing and had a length of 8 hours.
Discuss thevalueof this experienceto you (bespecifc).
I had always known that first responders were subject to traumatic experiences but I was
unaware of how often everyday nurses in the hospital can experience similar events. Patients
decompensate more than one can realize, which can spark tension and fill the environment with
stress. Ive learned that there are many ways that I can protect my mental state when its my
turn to deal with such experiences. This information should be readily available to all
healthcare workers because it truly is invaluable.
Would you recommend this specifc communnity/professional experiencein thefuture;
why or why not? (Describe)
I would definitely recommend this event to any health care worker or student pursuing a career
in the healthcare field. Death can be traumatic event in itself and without the proper resources
and support to deal and cope with these potentially deleterious experiences.