scholarly journals Psychological Resilience towards COVID-19 amongst Emergency Medical Professionals in Pune (India)

2021 ◽  
pp. 17-24
Author(s):  
Parag Rishipathak ◽  
Shrimathy Vijayraghavan ◽  
Anand Hinduja
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Psychological Resilience ◽  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Stressful Environment ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Work Routine ◽  
One Year

Aim: The surge of COVID 19 infection across the globe has put tremendous pressure on Healthcare Professionals worldwide. Emergency Medical Professionals are first responders and hence bear the brunt of exposure to the virus as well as dealing with critically ill patients. The aim of the study is to assess psychological resilience towards COVID 19 amongst Emergency Medical Professionals. Study Design: Descriptive Study. Place and Duration of Study: Symbiosis Centre for Health Skills, Pune in April 2021. Methodology: The study was conducted amongst 120 Emergency Medical Professionals in Pune, India. The data was collected during the month of April 2021. Professionals who have completed Post Graduate Diploma in Emergency Medical Services and working in COVID centres for at least one year were included in the study. A 38-item questionnaire was developed for frontline Emergency Medical Professionals and included questions adapted from the tools which are available in public domain. Results and Discussion: Working in a stressful environment along with continuous fear of self-exposure and risk of transmission to family members affects the efficacy and productivity of Emergency Medical Services Professionals. Debriefing, training for effective ‘breaking bad news’ stress management workshops and counselling sessions should be integrated into their work routine to enhance their psychological capacity. Conclusion: The findings indicate that even after a year of serving COVID 19 patients, Emergency Medical Professionals demonstrate a high degree of resilience. Yet there are areas requiring improvement which need to be focussed upon immediately in the interest of the mental well-being of Emergency Medical Professionals.

scholarly journals P016: Evaluating the impact of a novel mobile care team (MCT) on the prevalence of ambulatory care sensitive conditions presenting to emergency medical services in Nova Scotia

CJEM ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (S1) ◽  
pp. S83-S83 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. Brown ◽  
A. Carter ◽  
J. Goldstein ◽  
J. Jensen ◽  
A. Travers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Ambulatory Care ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Care Provider ◽  
Primary Care Provider ◽  
Care Team ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
One Year

Introduction: Hospitalization due to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) is a proxy measure for access to primary care. Emergency medical services (EMS) are increasingly called when primary care cannot be accessed. A novel paramedic-nurse EMS Mobile Care Team (MCT) was implemented in an under-serviced community. The MCT responds in a non-transport unit to bookings from EMS, emergency and primary care and to low-acuity 911 calls in a defined geographic region. Our objective was to compare the prevalence of ACSC in ground ambulance (GA) responses before and after the introduction of the MCT. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of GA and MCT patients with ACSC (determined by chief complaint, clinical impression, treatment protocol and medical history) one year pre- and one year post-MCT implementation was conducted for the period Oct. 1, 2012 to Sept. 30, 2014. Demographics were described. Predictors of ACSC were identified via logistic regression. Prevalence was compared with chi-squared analysis. Results: There were 975 calls pre- and 1208 GA/95 MCT calls post-MCT. ACSC in GA patients pre- and post-MCT was similar: n=122, 12.5% vs. n=185, 15.3%; p=0.06. ACSC in patients seen by EMS (GA plus MCT) increased in the post-period: 122 (12.5%) vs. 204 (15.7%) p=0.04. Pre vs post, GA calls differed by sex (p=0.007) but not age (65.38 ± 15.12 vs. 62.51 ± 20.48; p=0.16). Post-MCT, prevalence of specific ACSC increased for GA: hypertension (p<0.001) and congestive heart failure (p=0.04). MCT patients with ACSC were less likely to have a primary care provider compared to GA (90.2% and 87.6% vs. 63.2%; p=0.003, p=0.004). Conclusion: The prevalence of ACSC did not decrease for GA with the introduction of the MCT, but ACSC in the overall patient population served by EMS increased. It is possible more patients with ACSC call or are referred to EMS for the new MCT service. Given that MCT patients were less likely to have a primary care provider this may represent an increase in access to care, or a shift away from other emergency/episodic care. These associations must be further studied to inform the ideal utility of adding such services to EMS and healthcare systems.

scholarly journals Review of Emergency Medical Services Vulnerability to High Consequence Infectious Disease in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Richey ◽  
Raymond L. Fowler ◽  
Ray E. Swienton ◽  
James Patrick O'Neal ◽  
Curtis A. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Patient Transport ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Us ◽  
Training Standards

Purpose: Emergency medical services (EMS) responders are a group of medically skilled professionals who perform a wide range of essential medical services within a community including emergency response, patient transport, and mobile integrated healthcare. The proper functioning of the EMS system is paramount to the well-being of the medical system and public health. The intent of this paper is to review current EMS standards and practice to determine the danger a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) may pose to these healthcare workers and the community.Areas Addressed: Through the review of EMS practice several areas were identified as vulnerabilities to the EMS network. These vulnerabilities consisted of the lack of standardized licensing practice, inconsistent medical direction, and the inability to properly implement the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The compounding of these vulnerabilities allows for HCIDs to pose a serious threat to EMS personnel with the possibility of devastating and crippling the EMS infrastructure within the US.Discussion: The vulnerabilities identified must be addressed both to protect EMS providers and to enhance the resilience of the US healthcare system. Ways to address the identified vulnerabilities should focus on improving the EMS curriculum and increasing minimum levels of education for first responders. Targeting minimum education and training standards could be the most effect method of reducing the dangers of HCIDs to EMS systems.

scholarly journals Well-being and PTSD in German emergency medical services – A nationwide cross-sectional survey

PLoS ONE ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. e0220154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Eiche ◽  
Torsten Birkholz ◽  
Eva Jobst ◽  
Christine Gall ◽  
Johannes Prottengeier
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Emergency Medical

scholarly journals Cultural Competence and Cultural Intelligence of Healthcare Professionals Providing Emergency Medical Services

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 11547
Author(s):  
Anna Majda ◽  
Iwona Elżbieta Bodys-Cupak ◽  
Joanna Zalewska-Puchała ◽  
Krystian Barzykowski
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Cultural Safety ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Cultural Competencies ◽  
Emergency Medical

Background: There are more and more foreigners in Poland who become clients of the Polish healthcare system. They use, among others, emergency medical services provided by healthcare professionals: doctors, nurses, and paramedics. Skillful care for culturally different patients requires cultural competencies and cultural intelligence to ensure good quality of care and cultural safety. The study aimed to measure and assess the cultural competencies and cultural intelligence of medical professionals working in hospital emergency departments (HEDs) and hospital emergency rooms (HERs) in Małopolska, a region in southern Poland. Methods: The following questionnaires were used in the study: the Cross-Cultural Competence Inventory (CCCI), the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS), and Questionnaire on Attitudes Towards Culturally Divergent People. In total, 709 medical professionals participated in the study, including 363 nurses, 223 paramedics, and 123 doctors. Results: Cultural intelligence—the overall score and the scores on the metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral subscales were significantly higher among HED and HER doctors. Cultural competencies—the overall score and the score on the cultural adaptation subscale were also significantly higher among HED and HER doctors. The CCCI and CQS scores were influenced by selected variables: taking care of and close interactions with representatives of other cultural circles; staying outside Poland for more than a month. Doctors were the group of medical professionals that were most tolerant and most positive towards people from other cultures. Conclusions: The research results confirm the positive impact of contact of medical professionals with people from other cultures on their cultural competencies and cultural intelligence. They indicate the need for training in acquiring cultural competencies and developing cultural intelligence, especially among nurses. They demonstrate the need to raise awareness among HED and HER medical professionals about issues in intercultural care and to increase diversity efforts, especially among nurses.

scholarly journals Evaluation of emergency medical services staff knowledge in breaking bad news to patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 030006052091869
Author(s):  
Paweł Rasmus ◽  
Elżbieta Kozłowska ◽  
Katarzyna Robaczyńska ◽  
Krzysztof Pękala ◽  
Dariusz Timler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
Bad News ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Breaking Bad News ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Emergency Medical

Objective The aim of the study was to investigate knowledge of breaking bad news (BBN) among medical personnel in the emergency medical services (EMS). Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 148 individuals employed in EMS. An interview was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Results Of study participants, 89.2% were not aware of any formal BBN procedure and 58.1% had not participated in any form of training. Compared with males, females were more likely to report that dealing with the emotional state of the family or the patient was the most difficult aspect of BBN. Only a few participants were aware of the SPIKES protocol for BBN, and none knew what the acronym meant. Sex, educational level, occupation, work experience and workplace were not associated with knowledge of BBN procedures. Conclusions Knowledge of BBN in both male and female EMS staff was insufficient. EMS personnel held different opinions about the method of BBN. Even staff who have participated in specific BBN training or have extensive professional experience were pessimistic about BBN skills in self-assessments.

Dispatcher Triage Accuracy in the Western Cape Government Emergency Medical Services System, Cape Town, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 638-644
Author(s):  
Mohammed F. Alshehri ◽  
Jennifer L. Pigoga ◽  
Lee A. Wallis
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Predictive Values ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
One Year ◽  
Dispatch Protocols

AbstractIntroduction:Triage - the sorting of patients according to urgency of need for clinical care - is an essential part of delivering effective and efficient emergency care. But when frequent over- or under-triaging occurs, finite time and resources are diverted away from those in greatest need of care and the entire Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system is strained. In resource-constrained settings, such as South Africa, poor triage in EMS only serves to compound other contextual challenges. This study examined the accuracy of dispatcher triage over a one-year period in the Western Cape Government (WCG) EMS system in South Africa.Methods:A retrospective analysis of existing dispatch and EMS data to assess the accuracy of dispatch-assigned priorities was conducted. The mismatch between dispatcher-assigned call priority and triage levels determined by EMS personnel was analyzed via over- and under-triage rates, sensitivity and specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPVs and NPVs, respectively).Results:A total of 185,166 records from December 2016 through November 2017 were analyzed. Across all dispatch complaints, the over-triage rate was 67.6% (95% CI, 66.34-68.76) and the under-triage rate was 16.2% (95% CI, 15.44-16.90). Dispatch triage sensitivity for all included records was 49.2% (95% CI, 48.10-50.38), specificity 71.9% (95% CI, 71.00-72.92), PPV 32.5% (95% CI, 30.02-34.88), and NPV 83.8% (95% CI, 81.93-85.73).Conclusion:This study provides the first evaluation of dispatch triage accuracy in the WCG EMS system, identifying that the system is suffering from both under- and over-triage. Despite variance across dispatch complaints, both under- and over-triage remained higher than widely accepted norms, and all rates were significantly above acceptable target metrics described in similar studies. Results of this study will be used to motivate the development of more rigorous training programs and resources for WCG EMS dispatchers, including improved dispatch protocols for conditions suffering from high over- and under-triage.

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