The Schwartz Center is committed to supporting healthcare professionals with additional resources on caring for their patients, themselves and their teams during this challenging time. Please find COVID-19-related support information here.
Welcome to Stress First Aid for Schwartz Center members. This training is the result of a collaborative effort between the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare and Dr. Patricia Watson of the National Center for PTSD. There is no additional fee for Schwartz Center members.
Stress First Aid (SFA) provides a framework for psychological peer support, with a set of supportive actions designed to promote self-care and coworker support. The overarching aim of SFA is to identify and mitigate the negative impacts of stress at work before they impair staff health and wellbeing.
SFA was initially developed under the auspices of the US military for implementation by the Navy and Marine Corps. It has since been successfully adapted for use by firefighters, police forces, and other first responders. The SFA model is based on five evidence-informed factors that help people recover from stress and adversity. These include the need for safety, calm, connection, sense of competence or self-efficacy, and hope.
As a Schwartz Center member, you have access to two training options for Stress First Aid:
Stress First Aid for Schwartz Center Members
This 60-minute web-based training and resource page introduces the basics of Stress First Aid for healthcare workers. This course is available to all staff affiliated with a Schwartz Center member organization.
Stress First Aid Train the Trainer
This eight-hour training program will provide you with the tools and resources needed to plan to implement Stress First Aid at your organization. This training includes eight modules of self-paced online instruction complemented by three web-based meetings with your training cohort and a Schwartz Center staff member. Training cohorts will begin in Fall 2020; if you would like to be notified when registration opens, please use the link below to complete a short form.