June 20, 2007

Renowned workplace trauma experts will be at UNBC Thursday, sharing their knowledge with a number of Prince George community service and professional groups about workplace traumatic exposure.

Forum organizer Dr. Shannon Wagner, a registered psychologist and faculty member in UNBC’s Health Sciences Program, says usually when we think about workplace health hazards we think about the physical risks and don’t recognize the potential mental health dangers that can exist. “Workplace traumatic exposure is a workplace hazard that is becoming recognized with respect to its potential for psychological implications. This forum is intended to highlight the importance of workplace mental health and provide participants with an opportunity to learn about developments in the field.”
 

9:00 am		Dr. Wayne Corneil – Moving from routine emergency response to crisis management: Thinking outside of the Box.
10:00 am		Dr. Shannon Wagner – An Investigation of Mental Health and Coping in the Fire Services
11:00 am		Ms. Marci Regambal – Cumulative Trauma Exposure in Emergency Personnel: Is Posttraumatic Stress and Occupational Disease?
1:00 pm		Dr. Lynn Alden – Post-traumatic Stress in Hospital Emergency Department Medical Staff
2:15 pm		Mr. Andrew White – WorksafeBC: Adjudicating Mental Stress Claims
2:45 pm		Dr. Shannon Wagner – Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: Clarifying the Controversy

 

There are about 50 people attending, including the Prince George Fire Department, volunteer fire departments from the Prince George area, the RCMP, BC Housing, and the Elizabeth Fry Society.
 

Contact:

Dr. Shannon Wagner, Assistant Professor, Health Sciences, UNBC - 250.960.6320