February 19, 2025

Ep 261 - Moral Injury with Caroline Leech at Tactical Trauma 24

15 minutes

In this episode of the St Emlyn's podcast, hosts Iain Beardsell and Liz Crowe welcome back Caroline Leech, a emergency medicine consultant with extensive pre-hospital care experience. Caroline discusses the concept of moral injury, delving into its distinction from moral distress. She introduces three mechanisms of moral injury: acts of commission, acts of omission, and betrayal. Caroline provides insightful examples from emergency medicine to illustrate these concepts, emphasizing the importance of identifying and addressing moral injury to support healthcare professionals. The discussion highlights the emotional and cognitive distress faced by emergency responders and the necessity for professional psychological support when moral distress accumulates into moral injury.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:23 Introducing Caroline Leech

01:10 Defining Moral Injury and Distress

03:42 Acts of Commission

07:12 Acts of Omission

12:30 Betrayal in Healthcare

15:00 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Guest - Caroline Leech

Caroline Leech is Deputy Clinical Lead of The Air Ambulance Service and has 25 years of prehospital clinical experience. She is a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at University Hospital Coventry, the West Midlands Trauma Network Director, and the Trauma Lead for the Institute for Applied & Translational Technologies in Surgery (IATTS). Caroline is currently undertaking a NIHR funded Clinical Research Scholarship with Warwick University. Her research interests include maternal out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, calcium in traumatic haemorrhage, and frailty in major trauma. She is committed to improving equality and diversity in PHEM, and promoting strategies for supporting the wellbeing and psychosocial care of prehospital responders.

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