This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on Employment After Burn Injury. Shelley Wiechman PhD, psychologist, discusses Returning to Work Can Help.

SHELLEY WIECHMAN: I think the biggest misunderstanding that, that patients have about returning to work is that they’re going to be completely healed and have no psychological symptoms of depression or PTSD or anxiety before returning to work. And I think patients are often surprised that we’re making recommendations that they return to work maybe, when maybe they still are wearing splints or pressure garments or bandages, or have symptoms of PTSD or depression, when in fact, returning to work is one of the best cures for those things.

NICOLE GIBRAN: I think that one of the things that I would want that patient to know is, and one of the misconceptions that we often have, is that they are not going to be disabled, and that there is hope for them to be able to go back to work. Research that Dr. Esselman has done in conjunction with our burn model system suggests that, on average, most patients are able to get back to work in about three months after their injury.

Visit https://msktc.org/burn and get the answers you need from experts who conduct innovative and high-quality research, provide patient care, and work to improve the health and overall quality of life for people with burn injury. That’s https://msktc.org/burn.