Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain.

          Wellness for Professionals: Taking Care While Giving Care

Celebrate Social Work Month and the nursing profession with the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Alumni Association and USC-NASW Unit.

Join us for a screening of the award-winning film, Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion, Their Pain, followed by a panel discussion. Learn more about how other professionals make time for self-care, tools to manage compassion fatigue and how to take advantage of support groups and other resources in your professional life. Licensed social workers can earn two CEUs as you hear from local experts.

Produced and directed by social worker Vic Compher, Portraits of Professional CAREgivers probes the emotionally risky aspects of professional care providers. Engaged, empathic caregiving can be a significant occupational hazard, and the film explores the painful and human sides of professionals including nurses, social workers, clinical psychologists, doctors, firefighters and first responders who rescue, assist and, when possible, heal the injured and traumatized. Learn more about what is known as compassion fatigue or secondary traumatic stress, which professionals can experience in response to trauma even when they may also experience profound meaningfulness in their high risk work. Who helps our helpers? Learn how some progressive agencies are beginning to explore how the care provider is affected emotionally and physically, and how they are developing essential structures for staff support.

Complimentary admission includes dinner, soft drinks and movie snacks. Parking is available for $12 in USC Parking Structure D through Entrance 4.

To register for the free event, please click here.

Panel Information:
Moderator, Fidel Rodriguez ’97
is a Human Relations Consultant and Violence Prevention Specialist for the County of Los Angeles’ Human Relations Commission.

Elizabeth Eastlund, LCSW
is Executive Director of Rainbow Services, an organization that provides support and assistance for women and children dealing with family violence, and is an advisor to the Trauma Informed Task Force of Greater L.A.

Nkem Ndefo, MSN, RN, CNM
is the founder of TRE Los Angeles, which provides community-based resilience building and trauma recovery services and programming to social service, healthcare and educational organizations. Nkem sits on the Strategic Planning Committee of the Trauma Informed Task Force of Greater L.A.

Michael St. Denis, J.D.
is a distinguished attorney, military veteran and student in the Virtual Academic Center at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.