• Sudden death or critical injury/illness of a coworker
• Particularly unusual or gruesome injury or death of a child
• Death of a patient after unusual circumstances or prolonged care
• Incidents in which circumstances are unusual or the sights, sounds or smells are distressing
• Dealing with burns
• Exposure to violence or assaultive behavior
• Exposure to multiple casualties or disasters

A critical incident can completely overwhelm anyone’s usual ability to cope. Emotional and physical reactions may appear immediately or may be delayed by weeks. Without a chance to address these reactions, you may find that these problems don’t fade. In fact, they may interfere with your ability to carry on daily activities.