scholarly journals An Exploration of the Experience of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing on Firefighters Within a Region of the New Zealand Fire Service

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Julie Mary Maher
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing ◽  
Critical Incident Stress Management ◽  
Critical Incident Stress ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Stress Debriefing

<p>This study originates from my practice experience working for the New Zealand Fire Service back in the late 1980's and early 1990's as an Occupational Health Nurse where I piloted a Critical Incident Stress Peer Support programme in the No.4 Region. My interest in the area began after attending a seminar on Critical Incident Stress Debriefing based on Mitchell's model of debriefing (1983). I had begun to recognise in my practice what I believed to be work-related stress but was a little uncertain about where this stress originated. After attending the seminar I began to understand that some of this stress was related to Critical Incident Stress (CIS) from firefighters exposure to critical incidents.  This study explores four firefighters experience of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) within a Region of the New Zealand Fire Service. It explores the application of CISD as one component of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), and the Nurse Researcher's philosophy of Clinical Nurse practice in relation to the application of CISD. The knowledge gained from the analysis of the data has the potential to influence professionals understanding of their experience and affect future practice and that of others working in the field of CISM.  The aim of the study was to gain a greater indepth understanding of firefighters experience specifically in relation to their participation in a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) following their exposure to a critical incident. Much of the literature that supported CISD appeared to offer a rather superficial understanding of the firefighters experience in relation to CISD. I chose to use narratives as the methodology, utilising four individual case studies as a method of social inquiry in order to explore the experience of CISD. The narratives were able to creatively capture the complexity and the dynamic practice of CISD.  An overall pattern of the formalised process was uncovered through the participants' narratives. Eight dominant themes were highlighted from the narratives which included safe environment; ventilating the stress reaction; similar feelings; getting the whole picture; peer support; bonding and resolution. While these themes were common to all the participants, each participant had a particular theme/s which was unique to their experience.  As a Nurse Researcher with dual practice interests in the area of nursing education and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), I am in a position to inform practice and service development. It is my belief that the knowledge gained from this study has the potential to be transferred to others working in the field of CISM. The study results are timely, practical and informative at a time of major change in the New Zealand Fire Service.</p>

scholarly journals An Exploration of the Experience of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing on Firefighters Within a Region of the New Zealand Fire Service

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Julie Mary Maher
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing ◽  
Critical Incident Stress Management ◽  
Critical Incident Stress ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Stress Debriefing

<p>This study originates from my practice experience working for the New Zealand Fire Service back in the late 1980's and early 1990's as an Occupational Health Nurse where I piloted a Critical Incident Stress Peer Support programme in the No.4 Region. My interest in the area began after attending a seminar on Critical Incident Stress Debriefing based on Mitchell's model of debriefing (1983). I had begun to recognise in my practice what I believed to be work-related stress but was a little uncertain about where this stress originated. After attending the seminar I began to understand that some of this stress was related to Critical Incident Stress (CIS) from firefighters exposure to critical incidents.  This study explores four firefighters experience of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) within a Region of the New Zealand Fire Service. It explores the application of CISD as one component of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), and the Nurse Researcher's philosophy of Clinical Nurse practice in relation to the application of CISD. The knowledge gained from the analysis of the data has the potential to influence professionals understanding of their experience and affect future practice and that of others working in the field of CISM.  The aim of the study was to gain a greater indepth understanding of firefighters experience specifically in relation to their participation in a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) following their exposure to a critical incident. Much of the literature that supported CISD appeared to offer a rather superficial understanding of the firefighters experience in relation to CISD. I chose to use narratives as the methodology, utilising four individual case studies as a method of social inquiry in order to explore the experience of CISD. The narratives were able to creatively capture the complexity and the dynamic practice of CISD.  An overall pattern of the formalised process was uncovered through the participants' narratives. Eight dominant themes were highlighted from the narratives which included safe environment; ventilating the stress reaction; similar feelings; getting the whole picture; peer support; bonding and resolution. While these themes were common to all the participants, each participant had a particular theme/s which was unique to their experience.  As a Nurse Researcher with dual practice interests in the area of nursing education and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), I am in a position to inform practice and service development. It is my belief that the knowledge gained from this study has the potential to be transferred to others working in the field of CISM. The study results are timely, practical and informative at a time of major change in the New Zealand Fire Service.</p>

Disaster mental health: A critical incident stress management program (CISM) to mitigate compassion fatigue

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Norma S.C. Jones, DSW ◽  
Kamilah Majied, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Critical Incident Stress Management ◽  
Critical Incident Stress ◽  
Disaster Workers ◽  
Stress Management Program

This article presents a critical incident stress management program (CISMP) that is designed to anticipate and mitigate the emotional impact of external and internal critical incidents upon individuals and groups who deliver disaster recovery services. This comprehensive program provides for immediate and sustained responses to assist disaster workers in effectively minimizing the emotional detriment of stressful incidents, resulting from interactions with disaster victims. Disaster workers have the potential to experience compassion fatigue as they listen to the disaster survivors’ stories of pain and losses, and work long work hours over extended work periods. The program is a structured, peer-driven, clinician-guided, and supported process designed to provide interventions to address disaster-related mental health issues. Emphasis is placed on individual peer support for immediate action, and specialized individual and group support, assessment, and referral is provided by a stress management clinician. Peer partners participate in a training program, which includes: (1) an overview of stress assessment and management; (2) critical/intervention orientation; (3) identification and utilization of peer support techniques; (4) event preplanning, event briefings, defusings, and debriefings; (5) protocol for responding to an incident; and (6) basic information on workplace violence.

Critical Incident Stress Intervention After Loss of an Air Ambulance: Two-year Follow Up

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Macnab ◽  
James A. Russell ◽  
John P. Lowe ◽  
Faith Gagnon
Keyword(s):  
Stress Management ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Abnormal Behavior ◽  
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing ◽  
Air Ambulance ◽  
Critical Incident Stress ◽  
Stress Intervention ◽  
Stress Debriefing ◽  
The Impact

AbstractObjective:Following an air ambulance crash with five fatalities, critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) was provided for involved paramedics, physicians, and nurses. A study was conducted to evaluate the long-term effects of a critical incident with critical incident stress debriefing according to the Mitchell model.Methods:Six months following the incident, empirically designed questionnaires were mailed to all transport paramedics and directly involved medical staff, and a random sample of both nurses from the dispatch/receiving institution and paramedics from around the province. Twenty-four months post-incident, all members of the transport paramedics completed the Impact of Events Scale and the General Health Questionnaires.Results:There were no differences between groups on any scores, except for disturbed sleep patterns, bad dreams, and the need for personal counseling being greater among transport paramedics at one day. There was no correlation between how well the deceased individuals were known, amount of debriefing, and symptom severity. A trend was seen for those with pre-existing stress management routines to have less severe symptoms at six months (p = 0.07). At two years, 16% of transport paramedics still had significant abnormal behavior.Conclusion:CISD did not appear to affect the severity of stress symptoms, whereas having pre-existing stress management strategies may. These findings give justification for proceeding to a randomized, controlled trial of different levels of critical incident stress intervention.

Best Practice in Responding to Critical Incidents and Potentially Traumatic Experience Within an Organisational Setting

2017 ◽  
pp. 732-754
Author(s):  
Carole Adamson
Keyword(s):  
Critical Incident ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Critical Incidents ◽  
Traumatic Experience ◽  
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing ◽  
Critical Incident Stress Management ◽  
Critical Incident Stress ◽  
Extreme Stress ◽  
Psychological Debriefing ◽  
Stress Debriefing

This chapter addresses best practice for organisational support after critical incidents and traumatic events within social work. Critical incidents are situations and incidents within workplace settings or roles, which, whilst able to be anticipated and planned for, have the potential to create a sense of emergency, crisis, and extreme stress, or have a traumatic impact on those directly or indirectly affected. Alongside the notion of critical incidents are concepts of debriefing, psychological debriefing, critical incident stress debriefing (CISD), and critical incident stress management (CISM). Debate about debriefing models has concerned their effectiveness and safety; the terms being loaded with meaning and tensions between scientific and holistic paradigms and between academic and practitioner perspectives. The chapter suggests areas of research and exploration for agency managers and senior practitioners wishing to make sense of the debates and enables the reader to consider best practice for critical incident response within organisational settings.

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