A Guided Webinar Series of Tools and Resources for Support, Safety and Sanctuary
- 8 Free Webinars are available to current students, alumni, faculty and the nursing community.
- Sessions are recorded and posted for viewing.
The webinar series is designed and coordinated by our Rutgers School of Nursing alumna, Donna Gaffney, DNSc, PMHCNS-BC. Dr. Donna Gaffney has long addressed trauma, loss and grief in the lives of children, adults, and communities. As a psychotherapist and consultant, she has worked with families, schools, and professionals in the aftermath of tragedies and national disasters, such as the Challenger explosion, the Pan Am 103 crash, Sandy Hook, the Haitian earthquake, and Hurricane Katrina. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Dr. Gaffney was a member of the New Jersey Traumatic Loss Coalition and the State of NJ Disaster Mental Health Services, working with Liberty Science Center, communities, families and professionals. She served on the Families of September 11 advisory board, facilitating one of the first online support groups for family members affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. View Full Bio
View the Webinars
- Identify the responsibilities, worries and concerns they carry for themselves and others. Self-assessment will be based on an exercise inspired by author Tim O’Brien’s powerful collection of soldiers’ stories in Vietnam, The Things They Carried.
- Recognize and name emotions (fear, anxiety, guilt, sadness, etc.) generated by the pandemic and their indispensable work.
- Build a toolbox for your health and well-being.
- Prioritize goals through short readings and exercises.
View the Slide Deck – What We Carry (pdf)
Fill out an evaluation for Webinar 1
- Identify your ability to provide self-compassion
- Locate support in your work and personal lives.
- Recognize toxicity in relationships and environments.
- Identify and practice mind-body self-care strategies.
View the Slide Deck – Self Compassion (pdf)
Fill out an evaluation for Webinar 2
Other resources for this webinar
Relaxation Exercise
4-7-8 Breathing Exercise
Body Scan Meditation
25 Gifts for Self Care – Health, Happiness, and Meaning
The Case for Taking a Break – Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation
Bibliography – Healing Ourselves
- Describe how to be present for colleagues and patients
- Develop actions that enhance compassion and comforting
- Reaffirm compassion for self and others.
View the Slide Deck – Offering Compassion and Comfort from a Distance (pdf)
Fill out an evaluation for Webinar 3
- Name Trauma and traumatic Responses in yourself, and environment
- Recognize vicarious trauma
- Identify when to ask for help
View the Slide Deck – When Bearing Witness is Too Much to Bear (pdf)
Fill out an evaluation for Webinar 4
- Discuss videocalls and saying Goodbye with Patients
- Recognize your role in a family’s mourning.
- Discuss loss, grief, and grieving colleagues
- Recognize vicarious grief
View the Slide Deck – Facing Grief and Grieving (pdf)
Fill out an evaluation for Webinar 5
- Discuss how social distancing can narrow one’s world of support and connection.
- Make a workable plan when practicing physical distancing and social connections
- Find effective ways to bridge separations
- Diffuse tension in relationships.
- Discuss longing for normalcy
View the Slide Deck – Families and Relationships Matter
Fill out an Evaluation – Webinar 6
- Recognize and accept vulnerability Reframe uncertainty and fear Identify your best actions and approaches to build growth and strength.Make a difference in your own life and the lives of othersEmerge from the pandemic whole and on a journey of healing and growth
View the Slide Deck – Transforming Helplessness
Fill out an Evaluation – Webinar 7
- Describe moral suffering as an umbrella term that includes: moral distress, moral injury, moral outrage, moral apathy, and moral residue.
- Recognize that the vulnerability of clinicians is unacknowledged
- Describe how vulnerability affects ones quality of life as well as the quality of care.
View the Slide Deck – Moral Distress
Fill out an Evaluation – Webinar 8