THE WELL-BEING OF THE EMR

1. THE WELL-BEING OF THE EMR

2. Emotional Aspects of Emergency Care

3. Stressful Situations • The EMR will experience personal stress, as well as encounter victims and bystanders under severe stress • Multiple casualty incidents • Trauma to infants or children • Traumatic injuries • Infant/child/elder/spouse abuse • Death/injury of a co-worker or other public safety personnel

4. Emotional Crises • Everyone involved in a serious injury, sudden illness, or death will face an emotional crisis. • Everyone is affected by death, and response to a death is highly individualized. • Predictable grieving stages involve: • Anxiety • Denial • Anger • Bargaining • Guilt/depression • Acceptance

5. Emotional Crises • Steps that will help the EMR to deal with a dying victim and his or her family members. • Recognizing that the victims needs include sharing, communication, privacy, and control. • Allowing family members to express emotions, know that its usually not personal • Listening empathetically • Not giving false reassurance • Using a gentle tone of voice • Letting the victim know that everything that can be done to help will be done • Comforting the family

6. Warning Signs of Stress • Irritability • Inability to concentrate • Difficulty sleeping/nightmares • Anxiety • Guilt • Loss of interest in work

7. What is Critical Incident Stress? A critical incident is a specific situation that causes an EMR to have an unusually strong emotional reaction that interferes with his or her ability to function immediately after the event and later on. This reaction can produce stress called Critical Incident Stress

8. Critical Incident Stress • Strong emotional reaction that interferes with ability to function • Can build-up over days, weeks, months, or years • May require counseling • A critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) is a type of meeting held within 24 to 72 hours of an incident. • During a CISD, participants are encouraged to have an open discussion of feelings, fears, and reactions triggered by the incident. • Defusing • Less formal and less structured

9. The Emergency Scene

10. At The Scene, Need to Evaluate • Location of the emergency • Extent of the problem • Apparent scene dangers • Apparent number of victims • Behavior of victims and bystanders • Need for additional assistance

11. Ensure Your Safety By • Evaluating the present and potential dangers • Wearing proper protective gear • Doing only what your are trained to do • Summoning additional resources

12. Possible Dangers at an Emergency Scene • Crime • Traffic • Fire • Electricity • Water/ice • Hazardous materials • Unstable structures/vehicles • Natural disasters • Multiple victims • Hostile situations

13. Safety to Others • Ideally, victims should be moved to safety only after they have been assessed and cared for appropriately • There are situations in which this won’t be true, but we will discuss this later

14. Break-out Session Firefighters arrive to help with a motor vehicle collision in which a pedestrian has been struck. The location is a dangerous intersection. The time is rush hour. The problem is compounded by heavy fog and rain. The vehicle has struck a utility pole, resulting in a downed wire. There appears to be two people in the car and one pedestrian in the roadway close to the downed wire. The driver of the vehicle is slumped over the steering wheel. The passenger is screaming for help, and the pedestrian is not moving. Bystanders are gathering; several are moving toward the vehicle to help but do not appear to see the downed wire. How would you handle this situation.

15. Assignment • Read Chapters 3 in the textbook • Complete workbook Unit 3