Making Decisions After Medical Trauma
Practical tools for navigating healthcare with confidence
The Medical Trauma DECIDE Toolkit™ · created by Pamela Mason
This page turns Pamela Mason’s educational talk into a page the Short Bowel Syndrome community can use. One step. One question. One decision at a time. You are not alone.
Pamela is a patient advocate, speaker, and SBSF volunteer. She created the Medical Trauma Decision Cycle and the Medical Trauma DECIDE Toolkit™ from lived experience with complex chronic illness and long-term healthcare. The original slideshow was presented with AGMD. Shared here with credit to Pamela.
It can show up in many ways — and it looks different for everyone.
Different experiences. Real people. Both matter. Your experience matters.
Understanding the cycle gives you the power to interrupt it. Medical trauma can create a loop. Awareness creates choice.
Sometimes the hardest part is not the decision itself. It is everything you are carrying into the decision: past experiences, fear, trust, unanswered questions, and the work of advocating for yourself.
A structured, permission-based way to approach healthcare decisions after medical trauma. Use the whole toolkit for a complex choice, or only the steps you need for a smaller one.
STEP 1 OF 6
D — Define the decision
Permission: You have permission to focus on one decision at a time.
Ask: “What is the one decision I need to focus on today?”
Examples: treatment options, surgery, medications, wait or proceed. One decision at a time is enough.
STEP 2 OF 6
E — Examine the facts
Permission: You have permission to ask questions until you understand.
Ask: “What do I know — and what is still missing?”
Look at benefits, risks, alternatives, and what else you need before you choose. Understanding builds confidence.
STEP 3 OF 6
C — Consult your support teams
Permission: You have permission to ask for support.
Ask: “Who can help me feel heard and supported?”
That can be your medical team, a trusted friend or family member, a peer in an SBSF room, or a licensed mental health professional. Support makes hard decisions less lonely.
STEP 4 OF 6
I — Identify your options
Permission: You have permission to understand all of your choices.
Ask: “What are my options — and do I understand each one?”
Name the options, the alternatives, and what staying the course would mean. Every option deserves to be understood.
STEP 5 OF 6
D — Decide when you are ready
Permission: You have permission to pause when it is medically appropriate.
Ask: “Am I ready to make this decision today?”
You can take time, talk it through, gather more information, or move forward. Readiness is part of the decision.
STEP 6 OF 6
E — Evaluate and empower
Permission: You have permission to learn without judging yourself.
Ask: “What did I learn from this experience?”
Every healthcare experience can strengthen your voice. Use what you learned the next time a decision shows up.
The Decision Cycle helps you understand what you may be carrying into a healthcare decision. The DECIDE Toolkit™ gives you a structured way to respond. Awareness creates choice. Medical trauma may influence how you experience healthcare. It does not have to define every future decision.
One step. One question. One decision at a time.
Medical Trauma Decision Cycle and Medical Trauma DECIDE Toolkit™ developed by Pamela Mason © 2026. Permission-based educational adaptation of structured decision-support concepts for medical trauma. DECIDE-style frameworks predate this toolkit; Guo, K. L. (2008), “DECIDE: A Decision-Making Model for More Effective Decision Making by Health Care Managers,” The Health Care Manager, 27(2), 118–127, is among selected sources.
Also referenced in the original talk: NIMH trauma and PTSD information; SAMHSA trauma-informed care; Flaum Hall & Hall (2016), Managing the Psychological Impact of Medical Trauma; Jacqueline Hana (2024) on medical gaslighting; Bloom (2025) on getting support when ill. Finding a licensed clinician: Psychology Today therapist directory. Educational resources only.