Caring for Patients with Medical Trauma and Medical PTSD

This activity is designed to identify:

  • What is Medical Trauma, SIgns, Causes, and Care
  • How is Medical Trauma Triggered
  • Risk Factors for Psychiatric Trauma and PTSD Needs Improvement
  • Identifying Trauma and PTSD in Patients is Key to Providing Appropriate Patient Care
  • Methods to improve feelings of empowerment for both nurse/ staff member and patients. It will also help to reduce experiences of trauma throughout the patient’s stay.

Target Audience

This course is designed for nurse practitioners, nurses, and other health care professionals who seek improved quality of care for the patients.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Differentiate between trauma and PTSD.
  • Identify risk factors for development of PTSD in a medical setting.
  • Recognize signs of the 4 types of difficulties patients experience with PTSD.
  • List the risk factors for patient trauma
  • Describe risk factors for patient abuse related to disability (and how that can cause trauma)
  • Demonstrate competence and comfort in “what to say” (and what NOT to say) to someone who has experienced trauma or PTSD, as well as the principles of trauma informed care.
  • Identify helpful and appropriate accommodations for patients who have experienced trauma or PTSD.
  • Guide a patient through a simple grounding exercise, using the 5 senses.
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 ANCC
    UPMC Provider Unit is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
  • 1.00 Attendance
Course opens: 
10/24/2022
Course expires: 
10/24/2025

Planning Committee:
Ashli Molinero, DSc - Director, UPMC Disabilities Resource Center at UPMC

Course Directors:
Kaitlin A Kerr, RN, MSN - Clinical Educator for Disability Awareness - Disabilities Resources Center at UPMC

Conflict of Interest Disclosure:
No planners, members of the planning committee, speakers, presenters, authors, content reviewers and/or anyone else in a position to control the content of this education activity have relevant financial relationships to disclose.

In support of improving patient care, the University of Pittsburgh is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Nursing (CNE)
The maximum number of hours awarded for this Continuing Nursing Education activity is 1.0 contact hours.

Other health care professionals will receive a certificate of attendance confirming the number of contact hours commensurate with the extent of participation in this activity.

Available Credit

  • 1.00 ANCC
    UPMC Provider Unit is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
  • 1.00 Attendance
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 Disabilities_Resource_Center_Trainings.pdf (sharepoint.com)

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