¶ … Stress Management: Nuclear Energy Institute
Nuclear energy has been heralded as one of man's greatest blessings. It has the ability to supply affordable energy to millions of citizens, solving some of the nation's most critical energy needs. Under normal circumstances, nuclear energy is safe and reliable. Plants have numerous protocols in place to assure that it remains that way. However, nuclear energy also has a dark side and the potential to cause great harm. In any incident that involves the release of radiation causes considerable stress for everyone involved.
Everyone is aware of the dangers of radiation and its effects on the body. Those who work in facilities are trained in all aspects of the dangers and in measures that they can take to protect themselves. Worker safety at a nuclear facility is a high priority and is a continual concern. This concern is magnified if an accident, or human act jeopardizes the safety of the facility. Workers at the facility are particularly vulnerable to stress is associated with critical incidents at the facility. They are closest to the source of radiation and have the greatest chance for high exposure levels.
The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has developed a critical incident stress management (CISM) protocol to help identify and manage issues associated with stress involving a critical incident at a nuclear facility. Concern in the program is not only for the workers at the facility who maintain it on a regular basis, but also for first responders, as they are likely to be exposed to the compound and stress of the critical incident and of the potential for radiation exposure. Nuclear facilities are high risk for the development of stress related conditions among workers and among first responders. The development of a successful CISM program is essential for helping return to operations as normal in protecting the long-term health of those most likely in harm's way. The following examines the CISM plan of the NEI.
Elements of the Program
This program will have several elements that address critical incident stress management from prevention through the recovery phase. The formal elements of the program will include the following.
1. Engaging preventative measures to help prevent critical incident stress
2. Develop interventions aimed at preventing critical incident stress
3. Learning how to recognize the manifestations of critical incident stress
4. Developing appropriate interventions for plant workers and first responders who display these symptoms
5. Developing appropriate interventions to help develop resiliency in stressful situations
6. To understand the role of cultural constructs that may affect the design and implementation of these measures and to integrate ways to resolve them into the critical incident stress management plan.
Rationale
Rationale for the critical incident stress management plan stems from research in the area of post traumatic stress disorder. Research in this area has largely focused on prevention and intervention featuring the negative effects of critical incident stress. This research will summarize research studies and how the findings can help in the development of the NEI Critical Stress Management Plan.
First responders and nuclear facility workers are considered to be a high-risk category in that they are at risk for a variety of health and mental health consequences, one of which is posttraumatic stress disorder developed as a result of traumatic critical incidents (Pietrantoni & Prati, 2008). The goal of the critical incident stress management program is to examine resilience factors that protect first responders' from consequences associated with stress.
Stress associated with critical incidents can cause symptoms including burnout, fatigue, diminished self-esteem and self-efficacy. These can lead to symptoms associated with other mental hall disorders such as depression and anxiety related symptoms. It is been found that the first responders' self-esteem and self-efficacy is predictive of resiliency after a critical incident (Pietrantoni & Prati, 2008). This research supports the development of preventative programs that focus on building self-esteem and that provide them tools that give them the confidence to handle the stress associated...
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