Exposure to daily trauma in emergency services
We attend to people on the worst days of their lives, daily we face catastrophic incidents, see sights that would make most peoples skin crawl and stand their hair on end. We are a resilient group, most of the time, but this type of exposure has a cumulative effect. Slowly but surely wearing us down.
It can be the most insignificant of incidents that work their way past our defences, its not always the dramatic ones. It tends to be the jobs which hit on a more personal level, due to the clothes someone was wearing, the tone of their voice, the age of a child… whatever the reason for passing our guard, these jobs can end up sitting with us, sometimes for years to come, adding to the increasing weight we have to carry.
Emergency service workers are at an increased risk of PTSD, with an estimated prevalence of 14.6% in ambulance personnel, 7.3% among firefighters and 4.7% for police [1]. Cumulative traumatic events can take their toll on our mental health. Levels of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation, PTSD, burnout and stress in those who work in the emergency services are generally too high, and studies indicate this is on the rise [2, 3]. 9/10 blue light workers have experienced stress and poor mental health [4], despite this we are less likely to take time off work than the rest of the population.
Focusing on the job at hand is how many of us cope with this, forcing our behaviour to remain cool, calm and stoic in the face of disaster and its aftermath. It helps us maintain an emotional distance, reducing the chance of us bringing work home. But this alone doesnt always cut it. Organisational and social support from peers, colleagues, managers, friends and family goes a long way in helping buffer the effects of a bad job, maintaining our psychological reserves for longer.
What support does your workplace offer?
Is there someone in your life you reach out to if things get rough?
How do you cope with jobs that hit you on a personal level?
(Image credit DanSun www.dansunphotos.com)
References
1 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21681455
2 - https://www.beyondblue.org.au/about-us/about-our-work/workplace-mental-health/pes-program
3 - https://www.headsup.org.au/healthy-workplaces/for-police-and-emergency-services
See more: https://theconversation.com/paramedics-need-more-support-to-deal-with-daily-trauma-97315
@RicochetJaguar
Very interesting and I love the way that you list your sources, I feel that is so important.
Listening .... One Step At A Time
@MistyMagic
Thanks 
That is a habit from university, years of not being able to write without having references has made me a changed man! 
@RicochetJaguar
I still remember the most important, and first thing, I learned at Uni was how to research and check information and give the sources lol!
Listening .... One Step At A Time
@RicochetJaguar i have worked in emergency departments with the postings varying from 6hours to a 24hour post. It would affect my mood severely and I wouldn't feel like doing anything for a whole week or two after such postings during my internship. Sometimes I would just cry..to let it out. It's hard being a doctor.. :(
@kindlake94 yes you are so right about that. What I really hate is that we think we might become desensitised then something worse comes along 
Listening .... One Step At A Time
@kindlake94
Wow, 24 hour shifts sound beyond brutal! The longest I have done is a 12 hour which overran to be 16 hours, I felt like a walking zombie after that! No wonder it took you a long time to recover, it's absurd to think any human would be able to work to the best of their ability after being in such a stressful high pressure environment for so long.
Were there any things which helped you recover after such shifts? I expect lots of sleep and some quiet decompression time played a part!
@RicochetJaguar well we have such long shifts.. because I am from a developing country ,India , which has a high population and so there is lack of doctors hence we gotta work a lot..sometimes when it's our call day. I usually just sleep and take a long shower , watch some Netflix. Talk to my friends and family . As most of my friends are doctors so they understand..when I talk to them about my struggles. Rest you just gotta distract yourself if you keep seeing flashbacks from ER room. That's what I do!
@kindlake94
Having people around you who understand some of the struggles of your work really goes a long way! Having good distraction techniques can help a lot too.
Healthcare staffing to patient ratios is a really difficult problem around a lot of the world... it can really add to the strain of the job when you are on the go with so much responsibility, and there just aren't enough resources to properly support you.
It adds up. Work offers little support, some CISD and a crappy counselor who reports directly to the supervisor.
I don't have anyone I reach out to. There are some who say they would be there but I'm not comfortable asking them for help. If I did they would tell other people.
I drink more than I should. Work too much. Try to stay destracted and do my best every time. I try to take the shit calls and learn from them and try to not let the "close to home" calls take me out. I've done therapy with very limited success. Is what it is I guess.
You either help yourself or die waiting for rescue.
@RicochetJaguar Some information mate about online secretarial services that can be purchased very recently they told me that I could enter here, to look for that type of information about singapore or the companies that follow that model, does anyone know how good they are or in their case that they are the best option so that this kind of opportunities can be used
