From Scrubs to Strength: Navigating PTSD in the Wake of Pandemic Nursing

"There are days when I feel as if I'm being consumed by the darkness of what I've seen and experienced. But then I look at my family, my patients, and I remember why I do what I do. I'm not just fighting for myself, but for them. And if there's even a glimmer of light I can bring to their lives in the midst of all this chaos, then every struggle, every tear, is worth it." Carmen V. Miami, FL

A chill passes over Carmen as she awakes in the early morning hours, her heart pounding in her chest. She fights to escape the clutches of a dream - a nightmare, really - in which the endless waves of desperate, struggling patients never cease. It's been well over a couple of years since the peak of COVID, but the effects still linger, not just in her community, but deep in her psyche.

Carmen, a 35-year-old Latina woman, is a registered nurse living in Miami. She is also a wife and the mother of a beautiful three-year-old girl named Gabriela. But apart from these identities, she is also a survivor, having worked on the frontlines of the pandemic in one of the largest hospitals in the city. The experience has left her diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Her husband, Jesse, awakes beside her, placing a comforting hand on her back. "Another dream?" he asks gently, knowing the answer.

"Yeah," she replies, her voice just above a whisper.

Her alarm rings at 5 a.m. She rises to begin the day, tired yet determined. With a hot shower, she attempts to wash away the remnants of her dream. She then gently opens Gabriela's door, smiling at the sight of her sleeping child. The sight fills her with a potent mix of love, fear, and resolve.

Downstairs, she prepares breakfast and packs lunches, as Jesse helps Gabriela get ready. The rituals of home life provide a semblance of normalcy, a far cry from the chaotic, uncertainty-filled days at the height of COVID.

After breakfast, she drops Gabriela off at daycare and heads to the hospital. The city is starting to wake up, but the memories of ambulance sirens and an eerily quiet city still ring loud in her mind. She takes a deep breath and steps into the hospital, a place that has become both a second home and a battlefield.

Her days are filled with patients, paperwork, and constant sanitizing. Between the long shifts and the pressure to stay alert for any signs of a new outbreak, it's exhausting. But it's more than just physical fatigue. The psychological toll, the emotional drain, is much harder to shake off.

She remembers the fear in the eyes of her patients, the desperation of families not allowed to visit, the countless moments of helplessness as the virus took one life after another. The faces of those she couldn't save are etched into her memory. Their stories are part of her now, and they're stories that the world outside the hospital walls can't begin to understand.

On her break, she dials Jesse, needing to hear his voice. Gabriela's giggles in the background make her smile, a reminder of why she is doing this.

Evening arrives, and she leaves the hospital, the setting sun a stark contrast to the dark memories that still linger. At home, she spends quality time with her family. Dinner, bath-time for Gabriela, and then a precious hour of shared laughter over a family board game.

Carmen struggles to find a sense of balance, to not bring the hospital's gloom home. At night, when Gabriela is asleep and Jesse is dozing off, Carmen finds herself alone with her thoughts. She meditates, practices breathing exercises her therapist recommended, and writes in her journal, a way of processing her experiences and fears.

She doesn't always feel like a hero. Some days, she just feels tired, worn thin by the weight of her memories. But every day, she chooses to get up, to take care of her family, to heal her patients, and, slowly, to heal herself.

Her life as a Latin woman, a nurse, a wife, a mother, and a survivor

For nurses like Carmen who served on the frontlines of the pandemic it’s not over as they tend to the continuing effects on patients that COVID leaves every day. And everyday they increase their risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many professionals in the healthcare field with PTSD experience various symptoms, including anxiety, depressed mood, sleep disturbances, chronic pain, avoidance, and memory loss. TO date, the most effective treatment involves medication along with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Self-care, a good support network and activities such as exercise and meditation, can be healthy coping options.

To help better understand PTSD, diagnosis and treatment, here is information shared from The American Nurse online publication in their October 4, 2022, article By: Lisa Draze.

PTSD Defined

PTSD occurs as the result of witnessed or experienced trauma or traumatic event, such as war, natural disaster, serious accident, abuse, violence, or shock. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, PTSD has been observed and reported in frontline nurses. Most nurses work in high-stress environments and encounter traumatic events throughout their careers, but the insufficient resources, lack of nursing staff, limited supplies, and many unknowns of the illness left nurses feeling unprepared. They feared for their own safety and worried about exposing their loved ones to the illness. They also encountered ongoing changes in virus information and treatment protocols.

The World Health Organization estimates that from 80,000 to 180,000 healthcare workers died from COVID-19 between January 2020 and May 2021. In addition, available data from 119 countries suggest that only two in five healthcare workers were fully vaccinated in September 2021. In most countries, frontline nurses were the healthcare workers most affected by the illness.

PTSD Prevalence Among Nurses

Before the pandemic, 10% to 50% of frontline healthcare workers experienced PTSD. In May 2021, the American Psychiatric Association reported a PTSD rate of 49.5% among nonphysician healthcare workers. According to an integrative review by Schuster and Dwyer, about 96% of nurses reported having one or more symptoms of PTSD, with around 21% meeting the diagnostic criteria for the condition.

Factors linked to PTSD in frontline nurses include the nursing role (changes in nursing assignments) and aggression, violence, and trauma in the workplace. Other factors recognized to trigger PTSD include workplace frustrations, such as limited staffing or other resources; lack of organizational support; negative perception of patient care; few supportive relationships at home or at work; deaths of young patients; and patient suffering. Increased workplace demands during the pandemic likely exacerbated these factors. According to Becze, although many factors increase nurses’ risk of PTSD, interpersonal factors (healthy coping strategies, resilience, and outgoing personalities) reduce their likelihood of experiencing the disorder.

Differential Diagnoses

PTSD can be difficult to diagnosis and frequently is misdiagnosed as acute stress disorder (ASD), which is similar to PTSD but with a shorter duration. Typically, ASD symptoms develop immediately after a traumatic event and last from 3 days to 1 month. PTSD diagnosis occurs when symptoms last beyond a month. Other differential diagnoses for PTSD include dissociative disorders, adjustment disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, panic disorder, phobias, and substance use disorders.

Misdiagnosing PTSD can lead to inappropriate or delayed care, making it difficult to treat and resulting in significant psychological, physical, and social issues. PTSD rarely resolves on its own. Left untreated, PTSD increases the risk for many life-threatening conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, chronic pain, depression, and substance use disorders.

Diagnostic Criteria

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, diagnostic criteria for PTSD include indirect or direct exposure to a traumatic event and four categories of symptoms: intrusion, avoidance, negative conditions/emotional numbing, and hyperarousal/reactivity. Diagnosis requires that symptoms be present for more than 1 month and result in functional impairment and clinically significant distress. (See PTSD symptoms.)

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline nurses have been exposed to many psychological and physical stressors. In a study of 637 nurses in Australia by Sahebi and colleagues, 34% perceived that they were providing slightly or significantly worse patient care than before the pandemic. These stressors frequently result in anger, depressed mood, anxiety, emotional instability, and irritability. In addition, frontline nurses report isolating themselves out of fear of spreading the infection to loved ones. (See A nurse’s story.)

Treatment

Nurses experiencing PTSD should be encouraged to seek treatment. The National Alliance on Mental Illness recommends psychotherapy and medication with a combination of complementary therapies such as aqua therapy, yoga, mindful meditation, and acupuncture. Treatment can be provided in-person or via telehealth programs.

Pharmacologic Treatment

There has not been a medication approved by the FDA in more than 20 years, and no single medication can treat all PTSD symptoms. Providers consider individual preference and current symptoms when selecting pharmacologic treatment. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors aid in reducing PTSD symptoms. Typically, they’re continued for 6 months to a year to prevent recurrence or relapse.

In most cases, PTSD can’t be treated with medications alone. The psychological trauma associated with the condition creates side effects that require a combination approach to yield the best treatment results. Nurses experiencing PTSD should talk with their primary care providers about their treatment options and receive a referral for a psychiatrist or therapist.

Nonpharmacologic Treatment

Frontline nurses may benefit from biopsycho­social treatment, a multifaceted approach with proven outcomes for such healthcare workers and the highest rate of return to optimum mental health. A team of providers conducts biopsychosocial treatment, which focuses on self-management. The treatment demonstrates links among the psychological (coping skills, past trauma, self-esteem), biological (physical health, gender, genetic vulnerabilities), and social aspects (family circumstances, peers, social support) of an individual to help determine how they contribute to health and illness. The patient actively participates in the recovery process.

Several types of psychotherapy can aid recovery. Cognitive processing therapy with a psychotherapist works by focusing on the self-blame and negative thinking that accompanies PTSD. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing uses measured exposure to traumatic memories with alternating stimuli in structured sessions with a certified healthcare provider. This therapy is specially designed for treating trauma.

Group therapy allows people with the same experiences to provide support for one another, which helps build resilience and reduce feelings of isolation. It also works to decrease feelings of shame or guilt. Exposure therapy with a trained professional assists those with PTSD to safely face their trauma while teaching them how to cope effectively and safely. Recently, virtual reality programs have become popular for delivering exposure therapy in clinic and home settings.

Self-Care Strategies

Self-care strategies can help nurses build resilience against PTSD and provide robust coping mechanisms. Many nurses may consider self-care selfish. A good support network at work and at home can remind them that self-care aids recovery and their ability to care for others. Ignored stressors may lead to medication errors, lower quality-of-care scores, patient falls, and burnout. Some self-care strategies include regular exercise, mindful meditation, good sleep hygiene, regular leisure and recreational activities, breaks at work, connection with loved ones, and professional help when needed. Self-care is about finding a balance among work, family, social life, and physical and mental health needs.

Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation (healthynursehealthynation.org) offers online self-care resources to nurses. It includes free apps and tools to promote mental health, as well as podcasts, hotlines, self-assessments, and other resources.

Healthy Lives, Safe Patient Care

Many nurses serving on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic experience PTSD symptoms that range from anxiety, depressed moods, and sleep disturbance to suicidal ideation, alcohol or substance use, and flashbacks. With proper treatment from trained professionals, nurses with PTSD can learn to manage their symptoms and recover. Critical to recovery is self-care, which provides nurses with strategies to maintain their physical, emotional, and mental health so they can live healthy lives and safely care for patients.