Teaching stress management skills to occupational and environmental health physicians and practitioners. A graduate-level practicum

Abstract

The World Health Organization Study Group on Training and Evaluation in Occupational Medicine has emphasized recently the importance of incorporating theoretical and practical aspects of primary and secondary prevention of stress in the professional training of occupational health practitioners. This paper describes such a course developed for the Tel-Aviv University Medical School graduate program in occupational health. The course objectives are consistent with the current call for improved training in psychosocial issues in medical care. Twenty-three occupational health practitioners (physicians, nurses, hygienists, and social workers) participated in a bisemester course. The first part included a stress management and prevention program based on the Rational-Emotive Training model. The main aim was to reduce irrational or dysfunctional thinking, which is considered a causal factor in stress and burnout. The second part involved the development and implementation of a field project on primary and secondary prevention of stress and its outcomes. Precourse, midcourse, and postcourse questionnaires showed a significant improvement in participants' psychosocial ability and a reduction in dysfunctional thinking compared with the control group. Such antistress resources may benefit practitioners and clients or patients alike, both potential victims of occupational stress.