New Mental Health Resources and Education Available Free to All Nurses

May 20, 2022

Canadian government grant makes the Wayfound Mental Health program Before Operational Stress free to nurses, physicians, care aides, and first responders until December 2022

Before Operational Stress (BOS) is a mental health program designed for first responders. It reviews operational stressors in the workplace and builds a shared understanding of what an operational stress injury is. Additionally, the program combines theoretical and experiential learning practices to introduce tools to help mitigate the effects operational stress may have on employees who are regularly faced with critical situations and/or experience operational stress at work.

BOS is being made available to BCNU members, and all Canadian nurses, through federal grants obtained by the Canadian Institute of Public Research and Treatment, and the University of Regina. Program registrants have the option to participate in a study that will explore the impacts of operational stress on the mental health of frontline workers and aim to learn more about the tools that help employees protect their psychological well-being. Participation in the research is not required to partake in a BOS program. Registrants who elect to participate in the research will be asked to complete a BOS program research survey conducted at three intervals (before program initiation, at the end of BOS, and after three months).

The BOS program is delivered via three modalities and nurses are invited to sign-up for the BOS delivery method best for them:

BOS Online: Eight, online education modules that the participant can self-pace.

BOS Peer: Psychoeducation (includes the modules) and introduces eight one-hour video conferences (one per week) delivered to groups of approximately 20 people. Questions and discussion are encouraged.

BOS Intensive: Small group in-person therapy delivered in eight two-hour sessions over eight weeks (only in Vancouver and Victoria).

To register, please visit the Wayfound website and use the code BCGEN2022 to access the service of your choice. For more information about BOS please check out the Wayfound Mental Health BOS FAQ or visit www.wayfound.ca.