Supervising staff in today’s health care settings is difficult at best. Patients present with complex needs, time and resources are scarce, and managed care requirements exert pressure to do more with less. But supervision in Health Care for the Homeless programs is fraught with a special set of challenges, including the need to oversee staff that work in multidisciplinary teams in unconventional settings, the significant potential for staff to experience sec- ondary or vicarious trauma, and the impact that societal factors not in the clinician’s control—such as lack of accessible, affordable housing and health insurance—have on patient’s physical and mental well-being. This issue of Healing Hands examines how supervisors in HCH programs can be effective in their work, how they can address secondary trauma, and how they can work successfully with students and volunteers.
Healing Hands: The Challenges of Supervision in HCH: Helping Staff Succeed
Categories:
Clinical Practice, Conditions and Issues, Healing Hands Newsletter, Trauma