ACEs in Higher Ed?

Hi Jennifer,

I work in Nursing Development. There is a need for education around trauma for nurses working in many areas. As you mentioned in your post, Psychiatric Nurses, and also ED Nurses, Pediatric Nurses and Public Health Nurses. I would love to see Trauma Science included in the curriculum of graduate and under graduate nursing programs. I would be interested in sharing ideas. Thank you for the work you do.

Maggie Gould MSN, RN, CPN

Jennifer,

I believe there are two separate needs in higher education. I have 24 years of experiencing working in higher education in administrative and faculty positions. The first need is to educate teaching faculty about ACES and other trauma/adversity which may impact student learning. When a student is stuck in what I call, "trauma brain", executive functioning is difficult to access. Also, a faculty can unintentionally trigger a student. Second, students in "helping" professions need to understand the ACE study and its implications on those they serve and self.

I have created a Webinar for criminal justice faculty at the college where I adjunct. The Webinar is to focus on how faculty can use skills to better support students who may have experienced or are experiencing trauma/adversity. Specifically, I translate evidenced based research on trauma/adversity into skills which faculty and administrators can use immediately for greater learning, retention and success of students. Secondly, I incorporate ACE research into all of the classes I teach. I would be happy to talk more about this with you. Please private message me if you would like to find a time we could talk.

~ Cathy

Jennifer--

I'm wondering whether you mean ACEs in the professionals themselves, or dealing with ACEs in their clients/patients?  I work with an ACEs group here in which we have been doing ACEs education for several health professions, including MSWs, nurses, PA students, medical students and primary care residents.  We are doing simulations with standardized patients in our simulation center, giving learners the opportunity to practice discussing ACEs and their relationship to current adult health issues with patients.  We have not incorporated a personal ACE screen into this program but plan to do so in the future.

Let me know if you want more info about what we are doing here.

Martina

Jennifer,

Interesting question which is multidimensional as one can see from the two thoughtful responses above.  

It is very important when educating students about ACEs to also help them understand the nature of secondary trauma (aka compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma).  Their exposure to the primary trauma of their current or future clients can indeed stimulate legitimate grief and/or restimulate old emotional wounds within themselves.  

Hope you'll take a look at www.caregiversfilm.com and watch the trailer of "Portraits of Professional CAREgivers:  Their Passion. Their Pain."  The film features social workers and a number of additional professional caregivers who share their personal stories about STS and how progressive organizations are developing programs to promote resilience of the staff.  

acesconnection will be hosting a free online screening of the 56 minute version of the film on Dec. 2 (2:00 p.m. EST/ 11:00 a.m. PST) with a chat afterwards.  

Hope you and others can tune in and feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions or would like to talk further.

Best wishes in your teaching.

Vic Compher, MSS, LCSW

Director, Co-Producer, Trainer

viccompher@comcast.net

267-266-0842

Different scenario:  I am a mental health counselor at small, private, liberal arts college.  I use ACES screening in intake.

Eva Atkinson, MA, LMFT, CADC; Brescia University--Owensboro KY

Here is a guide: Incorporating Trauma Informed Practice and ACEs into Professional Curricula, recently released by the Philadelphia ACE Task Force's Workforce Development project on bringing ACE information into Higher Ed in multiple disciplines.

The toolkit links to resources on 5 key concepts for introducing the topic, including background, implications and impact on development & behavior, trauma informed practice, and secondary exposure to trauma. It also links to environmental scans done on which colleges and universities have programming in this area, ranging from course content to degree programs.

There are a number of folks in the Higher Ed arena here in Philadelphia that are continuing work on this area, including Dr. Jeanne Felter, at Philadelphia University, who has launched a masters degree program, with whom you may like to connect. 

Carolyn Smith-Brown
Philadelphia ACE Task Force

Hi Jennifer, thank you for bringing up this important topic. An additional resource for you, in case you don't already know of it: 

1: Layne CM, Strand V, Popescu M, Kaplow JB, Abramovitz R, Stuber M,
Amaya-Jackson L, Ross L, Pynoos RS. Using the core curriculum on childhood trauma
to strengthen clinical knowledge in evidence-based practitioners. J Clin Child
Adolesc Psychol. 2014;43(2):286-300. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2013.865192. PubMed
PMID: 24484506.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24484506?report=docsum&format=text

PS: if you are also interested in ACEs exposure history among human services and health professionals in practice or training, let's communicate further, please (afsciolla@ucdavis.edu).