b'MENTAL HEALTHSafe enough to grieve and growPsychological safety inlong-term careBy Daniel WilcoxH As these examples illustrate, the scale of the er end of life is near. I dress, bathe and feed her. I steal an extra 10 minutes from the hectic pace of my day topsychological challenges facing long-term caresee if she is comfortable and comforted. For the lastteams is extensive. A recent root cause analysis two years, shes been a fixture around the home. Im alreadyconducted by the Ontario Centres for Learning,anticipating missing her encouraging attitude and how sheResearch and Innovation in Long-Term Care (Ontario takes the time to ask how Im doing. CLRI) and the Public Services Health and Safety Association found six primary factors and 229 tertiary The moment comes suddenly. I am taking care of anotherfactors that lead to psychological harm in long-termresident and miss the chance to hold her hand as she dies.care settings. After the family has left, I enter the room, say a quick final goodbye, and, despite my best efforts, a few tears escape. ItsAt the Ontario CLRI, part of our mandate is to provide at this moment that my supervisor walks by and shares thatyou with tools to create safer and more supportive a colleague has called in sick again and to be prepared for aworking environments. Many of our courses touch on hard day.psychological safety. We highlight two here.Grief. Like an anvil on the chest. Unacknowledged.All-In palliative care: The team approach to LTC This story is reflective of so many in our sector. It is an Creating personal psychological safety in long-term care everyday occurrence. Working in a long-term care home homes involves working as part of an effective team that is far from a normal job. An estimated 50% of the individualshas your back. The All-in Palliative Care course is an eight-that long-term care teams care for will pass away within hour virtual training program that helps staff constructively the following 12 months. As frontline staff, you are engage with grief and its impact on all team members, residents and care partners during dying, death and expected to carry the emotional burden for vulnerable bereavement. Learners recognize and teach the value of citizens, often while understaffed, overworked, and caring for self-compassion and self-care actions like box breathing.complex needs. Participants learn practices they can incorporatePsychological safety: Moving beyond the jargon into their long-term care home to help process grief. When you dont feel safe enough to embrace the emotionalThese include:toll of caring for and losing someone, you may disengage or become numb. When you arent afforded time to processRunning staff debriefing huddles after a death;a challenging interaction with a resident or family member, your resilience dwindles. When you feel unable to reach outConducting honour guards whereby everybody who to colleagues or leaders because they seem stretched to theircares about a recently deceased person is assembled at capacity, you may consider leaving. the front door to say goodbye; and38 LONG TERM CARE TODAY Fall/Winter 2024'