WELCOMEEMT-BA COURSE #BA54-01-11

•Website

•Syllabus

•Chapters 1 & 2

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES OF THE EMT-BA

Professional Characteristics• Flexible: To meet demands of the ever-

changing emergency scene• Confident leader

Excellent judgment

Ability to prioritize decisions

Develop Rapport

Function independently at an optimum level

Relatively young, the field of emergency medicine is now recognized as a part of the health care system

As an EMT-BA YOUR ARE A TRUE HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONAL

• You must follow codes of professional ethics and etiquette

The evolution of EMS

Ancient times

• Good Samaritan

• Book of wounds

• Code of Hammurabi

18th and 19th Centuries

• Napoleonic Wars

• Civil War

• First civilian ambulance service

• NYC Health Department Ambulance Service

• 20th Century

Roles and Responsibilities

• Evidence-Based MedicineBasic physical fitness• Strength and stamina on the jobBack Safety• Keep your back fit• Proper lifting techniques• Correct posture• Heed your own body signals

• Local protocols, policies and procedures

• Patient assessment

• Appropriate disposition

• Patient transfer

• Documentation

• Professionalism

Conduct or qualities that characterize a practitioner in a particular field or occupation

Professional attitude

• Patients

• Staff

• Co-workers

Professional attributes

• Self-confidence

• Established credibility

• Inner strength

• Ability to remain in control

• Ability to communicate

• Willingness to make decisions• Willingness to accept responsibility for the

consequences of the team’s actions

all leads to the attributes of. . . . .

L E A D E R S H I P

Professionalism also includes the qualities of………………………………………….

• Integrity• Empathy• Self-motivation• Appearance and personal hygiene• Communication• Time management• Teamwork and diplomacy• Respect• Patient advocacy• Careful delivery of services

Well-Being of the EMT-BA

Personal responsibilities• Self –examination

Stress and Stress Management• Eustress

Positive stress but can produce physiological and psychological signs and sx.

What is stress?...........

A hardship or strain; a physical or emotional response to a stimulus

Adapting to stress:• Defense strategiesHelpful in the short-term but denies and distorts

the reality of a stressful situation• CopingActive process. Confronts and changes or adjust

as necessary. May not be the best for the long-term

• Problem-solving skills: ability to analyze a problem and recognize multiple options and potential solutions

Healthiest approach to everyday concerns.

Mastery generally comes only as a result of extensive experience with similar situations

Stressors: Stimulus that causes stress

Administrative stressors

• Waiting for calls

• Loud pagers

• Inadequate pay

Scene-related stressors

• Violent and abusive people

• Flying debris

• Vomit

• Loud noises

• Chaos

Emotional and physical stressors• Fear• Demanding bystanders• Abusive patients• Frustration• Exhaustion• Hunger or thirst• Heavy objects

Environmental stress• Siren noise• Inclement weather• Confined work spaces• Difficult decision making

ALL can result in

• Can strain family relationships

• Can lead to conflicts with supervisors and co-workers

These added to common personality traits such as the need to be liked and unrealistically high self-expectations can lead to disturbing feelings of guilt or anxiety

You should be aware of

• Your personal stressors

• Amount of stress you can take before it becomes a problem

• Stress management strategies that work best for you

Three phases of stress response

Stage 1: Alarm

• “fight or flight”; the body physically prepares itself against a personal threat

• Pituitary releases adrenocortiotropic hormones which continue to flood the body via the autonomic nervous system coordinated by the hypothalimus

• Epinephrine and norepinephrine from the adrenal glands increase heart rate

increase blood pressure

dilate pupils

increase blood sugar

slow digestion

relaxes the bronchial tree

The reaction ends when the situation is no longer perceived as dangerous

Stage II: Resistance

• Coping becoming desensitized or adapted to stressors

Stage III: Exhaustion

• Resistance to stressors declines

Signs of stress

• Physical

• Cognitive

• Emotional

• behavioral

Specific EMS stress:

Daily Stress

• Pay

• Working conditions

• Dealing with the public

• Administrative matters

• Other hassles of day-to-day living

Small incidents

• Incidents involving only one or two patients

Large incidents and disasters

MANAGING STRESS

Two main groups of defense mechanisms and techniques for managing stress

• Beneficial

• Detrimental

Detrimental• May provide temporary sense of relief but

does not cure the problem• They only make things worseIncludes• Substance abuse• Overeating or other compulsive behaviors• Chronic complaining

• Freezing out or cutting off others and the support they could give you

• Avoidance behaviors

• Dishonesty about your actual state of well-being- - - - “I’m just fine”

Beneficial

Controlled breathing

• Focus attention on your breathing

• Take in a deep breath through your nose

• Exhale forcefully but steadily through your nose so that you can hear the air rush out

• Press all the air out of your lungs with your abdomen

• Do this two or 3 times until you feel steadier

Why do this?

Helps to reduce your adrenaline levels and slows your heart rate

Reframe

• Mentally reframe interfering thoughts such as “I can’t do this” or “I’m scared”

These thoughts however must be dealt with at some point in time

For long-term

The best stress management technique is to

TAKE CARE OF YOUR SELF

Hence

THE WELL-BEING OF THE EMT-BA