Throughout the pandemic, clinicians and others in healthcare began more open discussions about “moral distress” – a key stressor for those involved in delivering patient care and other first responders. So what is it? And how do you manage it? Crystal interviews Amanda Bush, MS, RN, a nurse with a background in Neonatal Intensive Care and a Masters degree in ethics, who specializes in helping clinicians deal with moral distress at MedStar Health’s Center for Wellbeing, and Lucia Wocial, PHD, RN, FAAN, HEC-C, a nurse and internationally renowned senior clinical ethicist with the John J. Lynch, MD, Center for Ethics at MedStar Health. They help define moral distress, talk about how to recognize it and how to manage it…and discuss why it’s important to continue the conversation about moral distress in health care.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK [8255]) has answered more than 12 million calls since 2005, and now they’re making it even easier for anyone who needs to reach them. As of July 16, a new three-digit phone number – 988 – connects those who need help with the national network that provides 24/7 crisis care. Crystal talks with Shye Louis, the director of clinical practices at the Lifeline, about making it easier to talk about suicide prevention, the network of 200 crisis centers that participate in the Lifeline, and the fact that anyone can call if they need advice about what to do for a loved one, a colleague or a patient in mental or emotional distress. The lifeline can also be reached by texting home to 741741.

For so many reasons – the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing health care needs of an aging population, the shortage of clinicians and acute care space – home health care is on a fast and furious trend upward. Crystal talks with three long-time home health nurses who like that they operate at the top of their skills to bring all kinds of care to patients, how the pandemic accelerated the growing need for their services, and the benefits of connecting with patients “at the couchside.”

In this special episode just for Nurses Week 2022, Crystal makes her way across the MedStar Health system asking nurses to tell her about their proudest moments. The difficulty for almost all RNs: picking just one moment! Celebrate Nurses Week with these tales…and send your own proudest moment in clinical care to [email protected].  Stories will be aired in future episodes. Happy Nurses Week!

As Nurses Week approaches, there is a lot of attention on the nation’s 4 million nurses and what the future holds for a profession that’s spent more than two years at the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In this episode, Crystal talks with MedStar Health Chief Nursing Officer Susan Eckert, who took over leadership of the system’s more than 8,000 nurses just six months before the pandemic started. Hear her perspective on what the global crisis changed , why nursing continues to be a highly desired career, and how she supports – and thanks – nurses everywhere.

We’ve talked a lot about the impact that the pandemic has had on healthcare providers, but many of us are equally impacted by how the pandemic is affecting our children. Join me as I sit down with MedStar Health experts Dr. Michael Brachfeld and Dr. Michelle Sobon to discuss what stress and anxiety looks like in children and adolescents during the pandemic and strategies we can use to help them cope. Helpful resources for parents recommended in the podcast: “Breaking Free of Childhood Anxiety and OCD,” by Dr. Eli Lebowitz (2020); https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/groups/families-covid-19.html (CDC Website “Families and COVID-19”) https://www.aacap.org/ (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) https://childmind.org/article/talking-to-kids-about-the-coronavirus/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_4-SBhCgARIsAAlegrU6eqZ5RYCv8eMXnk6a-zwCO4xNIEK84znlxwrlWXbmSimibnFpb84aAtQKEALw_wcB (pandemic advice from the Child Mind Institute: childmind.org) https://www.apa.org/ (The American Psychological Association)

MedStar Health has launched a new MedStar Health Center for Wellbeing to support the wholistic wellbeing needs of physicians, nurses, therapists and others who work in the health care system. Scrub In host Crystal Morales, one of the leaders of this new Center, talks with Dr. Dan Marchalik, the executive director of the Center, about what the Center provides to everyone who works at MedStar Health and what it means for health and wellness now and in the future. Hear why this isn’t just a response to the COVID crisis , but a long-term effort to change the way health care workers approach their own health – and the health of their colleagues -- while caring for others.

For those with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), the darkness of winter is no laughing matter. The good news: there are many effective treatments, and some preventive steps too. Crystal discusses SAD with Dr. Elias Shaya, chair of psychiatry at MedStar Health and an expert on the disorder that gets really serious for some individuals right about this time of year. One of his suggestions that anyone can use: develop a “fun menu” of activities, outings, and distractions that help you find something to do when you’re looking for an uplifting diversion. For further information on Seasonal Affective Disorder, Dr. Shaya recommends these websites:  https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/seasonal-affective-disorder https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder

MedStar Health Resilience Coach Danni Davis, LCSW-C, C-CSOTS, returns to Scrub In with a second episode on resilience. In this segment, Danni gives four simple tools anyone can use to help build and nurture their resilience. The good news: resilience isn’t just something you are born with! Danni explains how a little focus and a little practice can help anyone strengthen their resilience, making it easier as you respond to life’s challenges and changes.

Everyone’s talking about resilience….but what is it? Are you born with it? How do you get it? Does it go away? MedStar Health Regional Resilience Coach Danni Davis, LCSW-C, C-CSOTS, breaks down resilience, how we develop it, why we need it…and why it’s so important right now. Part I of a two-part interview….next up: Danni presents Resilience Tools.