Psychological guidelines for a medical team debriefing after a stressful event

Abstract

Medical and rescue workers are at risk of developing mental syndromes including post-traumatic stress disorder after disasters and it is widely accepted that they should be offered a preventive intervention. The Israel Defense Force Medical Corps has developed psychological guidelines for the medical forces: a medical team debriefing after treating the injured as a preventive intervention for an event that may be experienced as stressful. The main purpose of the debriefing is to investigate the circumstances of the event, analyze the medical team's functioning, and draw the relevant conclusions and the manner of their implementation. The purpose of the guidelines is to enhance mental coping, possibly prevent stress reactions, and help in screening individuals in need of further professional intervention for stress reactions. These guidelines are suitable for similar interventions in other professional teams. Copyright © by Association of Military Surgeons of U.S., 2007.