To be able to one day provide trauma informed care as a nurse is extremely important to understand how trauma can affects patients. Trauma response is different for everyone and while most individuals who experience trauma are extremely resilient and can cope with trauma without experiencing long term consequences, that is not the case for everyone. Trauma can have effects on every aspect of an individual’s life including that individuals psychological, physicals, spiritual, environmental and social wellbeing. Some trauma survivors can have difficulty regulating emotions such as sadness, sham, anger and anxiety. For some such emotional dysregulation can be short lived and managed through therapy, medication, exercise, or spirituality has been associated with resiliency and recovery. For others this constant emotional distress can lead to a loss of faith, and lead to high risk and self-injurious behaviors which could have a great effect on that individual’s physical wellbeing. Some common disorders that trauma survivor may experience could include sleep disturbance, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, muscular skeletal, or urological problems, however the most commonly seen disorde is substance use disorders. Individuals that have experienced trauma who experience such strong emotional or physical reactions tend to not use their support systems and resources adequality. It is proven that social supports and relationships can be a protective factor for individuals who have experienced trauma, however trauma can affect one’s ability to form relationships and often leads to social withdrawal. This can be caused by the trauma experience itself, the feeling of being unsafe in an individual’s current environment or situation, the belief that no one will understand or is trustworthy, or the perception of their need as a burden to others. This can all eventually lead to worsening isolation, chronic illness, depression, and fear. That is why as health care providers it is so important to provide a safe environment for our clients, so they are able to express their concerns and get the help that they need.

Trauma, specifically trauma that is experienced at a young age, also know as adverse childhood experiences, can lead to adverse effects in adulthood. Adverse childhood experiences are often grouped into three categories; abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. Not only can adverse childhood experiences lead to all of the consequences spelled out above, but it is also proven these experiences can affect how someone’s stress response functions, leading to changes in the body and brain which can then lead to further health problems. It is shown that these experiences and changes in the body that are a result of trauma can lead to COPD, stroke, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and suicide in adults. It is estimated that 46 percent of the U.S. youth have had at least one adverse childhood experience and 20% of children have had at least two adverse experiences. 

Due to the significant prevalence of trauma within our society, and the extremely unfavorable potential outcomes of trauma it is important to apply trauma informed care into nursing practice. I know as a nurse I want to try my best to apply the five principles of trauma informed care into my everyday practice. These principles include safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness, and empowerment. This model was created to help prevent re-traumatization for patients. It begins by insuring the physical and emotional safety of patients, so they feel comfortable to disclose personal information related to their trauma. Next, the patient must be able to trust the health care provider. The care for these patients should be a collaboration between the patient and the provider, as this allows for patients to have more control over their care. This collaboration is found to have more positive outcomes, and lead to better care experiences for individuals who have experienced trauma. Lastly the model focuses on empowering patients, it focuses on the patient’s strengths and building up those strengths to help the patient to be able to develop stronger coping skills. The idea is that all patients are treated as if they have experienced trauma by providing every patient with trauma informed care until proven otherwise. This will provide higher quality care and will help lead to better patient outcomes and stronger nurse/ patient relationships, and I hope to be able to provide this for my patients during my career as a nurse.