Chapter 2-Workforce Safety And Wellness Flashcards
What must you always focus on, even in a stressful situation
- Personal safety
- Scene safety, including safety of others
- Patient care
Name 5 strategies to manage stress
- change the work environment
- seek professional counseling if needed
- expand your social support system beyond your coworkers
- Develop friends outside of the EMS practice
- minimize the physical response to stress by using various techniques (yoga, slow deep breathing, regular physical exercise, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, limit intake of caffeine alcohol and tobacco)
Name your bodies three sources of fuel
Carbohydrates, fat, and protein
Safe lifting practice tips
- pre-plan the move
- bend your legs, not your waist
- keep the weight close to your body
- lift up using your legs, not your back
List the signs that your sleep pattern is ineffective
- you fall asleep within seconds of laying down
- you find your self routinely fatigued within an hour or so after an EMS call. The excitement is over and now your adrenaline rush crashes
- you are unable to make it through the entire day without severe fatigue
- you are an able to concentrate on repetitive tasks such as driving or completing paperwork
Infectious disease
A medical condition caused by the growth and spread of small, harmful organisms within the body
Communicable disease
A disease that can be spread from one person or species to another
Pathogen
A micro organism that is capable of causing disease in a susceptible host
Contamination
The presence of infectious organisms or foreign bodies on or into object such as dressings, water, food, needles, wounds, or a patient body
Exposure
A situation in which a person has had contact with blood, body fluids, tissues, or airborne particles in a manner that may allow disease transmission to occur
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Protective equipment that an individual wears to prevent exposure to a pathogen or a hazardous material
Transmission
The way in infectious diseases spread
In what ways can diseases be transmitted
Through contact, (direct or indirect) airborne, foodborne, and vectorborne (transmitted through insects or parasitic worms)
What is contact transmission?
The movement of an organism from one person to another through physical touch
What are the two types of contact transmission?
Contact, indirect contact
Direct contact
Occurs when an organism is moved from one person to another through touching without any intermediary
Example, sexual transmission can occur if the male or female has a disease
Blood-borne pathogen’s
Micro organisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans
InDirect contact
The spread of infection from the patient with an infection to another person through an inanimate object
What is the object that transmits an infection in indirect contact?
A fomite
Airborne transmission
Involves spreading an infectious agent through mechanisms such as droplets or dust
For example, sneezing or coughing
Food borne transmission and example of it
Involves the contamination of food or water with an organism that can cause disease
Make sure raw meat doesn’t come in contact with other foods, and food is stored properly to minimize the possibility of illness
Vectorborne transmission and example of it
Involves the spread of infection by animals or insects that carry an organism from one person or place to another.
For example, the black death in Europe and Asia killed more than 25 million people, caused by infected fleas that live on rats
occupational safety and health administration (OSHA)
Develops and publishes guidelines concerning reducing hazards in the workplace
Centers for disease control and prevention (CDC)
Developed a set of standard precautions for healthcare workers to use in treating patients
Standard precautions
Protective measures designed to prevent healthcare workers from coming into contact with objects, blood, body fluids, and other potential risks that could lead to exposure to germs
Infection control procedures
Procedures to reduce infection and patients in healthcare personnel
Immune
Resistant
Hosts
The organism or individual that is attacked by the infecting agent
What are the three type of immunity’s and what are their characteristics
- Lifelong, The illness will not recur
- Partial, the person who has recovered from the first infection is unlikely to get a new one from another person, but may develop illness from the same germs
- Done, exposure confers no protection from infection
What do you do when you are exposed to blood or another body substance?
Turn over patient care to another EMS provider, then clean the area with soap and water. If your eyes were exposed rinse then with water for 20 minutes as soon as possible, then activate your departments infection control plan
What guidelines should be followed when dealing with hazardous materials
- do not enter the scene if there’s evidence of hazardous materials
- remain uphill and upwind of the scene
- keep your distance. This may mean retreating if you become aware of the true nature of the situation
- quickly contact dispatch
- request for additional resources
- don’t enter the scene until instructed to by trained hazardous material responders
What are the warning signs just before a lightning strike
As your surroundings become charged, you may feel a slight tingling sensation on your skin, or your hair may stand up. Move immediately to the lowest place possible
What are seven common hazards in a fire
- smoke
- o2 deficiency
- high ambient temperatures
- toxic gases
- building collapse
- equipment
- explosions
What are some questions you can ask yourself while assessing traffic hazards in car crash
Is the flow of traffic near and around the crash? How will you safely leave and move about the scene? If you are the first to arrive at the scene, use the ambulance itself as a shield to protect the scene.
How far away should you be parked from all crash sites?
At least 100 feet
What cold weather protection layers should you consider?
- thin inner layer-This layer Pulls moisture away from your skin, keeping you dry and warm
- A thermal inner layer or bulkier material for insulation (wool)
- Am outer layer that resists chilling winds and wet conditions such as rain sleet or snow.
Signs and symptoms might an anxious person experience
- emotional upset
- sweaty and cool skin (diaphoretic)
- rapid breathing (hyperventilation)
- fast pulse (tachycardia)
- restlessness
- tension
- fear
- shakiness
Concerns of the dying, critically ill, or injured patient
- anxiety
- pain and fear
- anger and hostility
- depression
- dependency
- guilt
- mental health problems
- receiving unrelated bad news
Questions an anxious patient may have
- what will happen to me?
- what are you doing?
- will I make it?
- what will my disabilities be
What are characteristics of mental health problems of a dying patient
- loss of contact with reality
- regression
- distortion of perception
- diminished control of basic impulses and desires
- abnormal mental content (delusions and hallucinations)
What are the five steps of the grieving process
- Denial-refusing to get treatment or believe that sometime had happened, habit demands for an unrealistic miracle
- Anger, hostility-projected bad news on to the environment and commonly in all directions, at times almost at random. The person lashes out. Could be directed toward an EMT
- Bargaining- attempting to secure a prize for good behavior or promising to change.
- Depression-internalizing anger, hopelessness, and the desire to die. It rarely about suicidal threats, complete withdraw, or giving up long before the illness seems terminal
- Acceptance. Excepting the impending death of the patient, or excepting the death of a loved one
When responding to grief, what are some things you shouldn’t say?
- give it time, things will get better
- you shouldn’t question gods will
- you have to keep on going
- you can always have another child
- your not the only one who suffers
- The living must go on
- I know how you feel
What are some things that you should say when responding to someone’s grief
- I’m sorry for your loss
- it’s OK to be angry
- it must be hard to accept
- that must be painful for you
- tell me how you are feeling
- if you want to cry, it’s okay
- people really cared for… (whoever died)
What is stress
The impact of stressors on your physical and mental well-being
General adaption syndrome
The body’s three stage response to stress. Begins with an alarm response, followed by a stage of reaction and resistance, and then recovery or exhaustion
What are the physiologic displays of stress?
- increased respirations and heart rate
- increased blood pressure
- dilated venous blood vessels near the skin surface
- dilated pupils
- tense muscles
- increase blood glucose levels
- perspiration
- decreased blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract
Situations that are stressful for EMS providers include what?
- dangerous situations
- Physical and psychological demands
- critically ill or injured patients
- Dead or dying patients
- overpowering sights, smells, and sounds
- Multiple patients situations
- Angry or upset patience, family, bystanders
- Unpredictability and demands of EMS
- Non-critical/ non-911 patients
What are the three categories that stress can be placed in
Acute, delayed, or cumulative
Acute stress reactions
Occur during a stressful situation
Delayed stress reactions
Are displayed after the stressful event
Cumulative stress reactions
Cumulative stress occurs when you are exposed to prolonged or excessive stress. You begin to grow tired and exhausted from it. Can have affects such as fatigue, changes in appetite, gastrointestinal problems, or headaches. May cause insomnia or hyperactivity or under activity.
Some events are unusually stressful or emotional, even by EMS standards. These are referred to as critical incident stress. Name some events that can trigger critical incident stress
- mass casualty incidents
- serious injury or Trumatic death of a child
- crashes with injuries, caused by an emergency services provider while responding to or from a call
- death or serious injury of a coworker in the line of duty
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
May develop after a person has experienced a psychologically distressing event. It is characterized by re experiencing the event and over responding to stimuli that recalls the event
Critical incident stress management (CISM)
Was developed to address acute stress situations and potential he decrease the likelihood that PTSD will develop after such an incident
When can CISM (critical incident stress management) occur at an ongoing scene?
- when personnel are assessed for signs and symptoms of distress while resting
- before reentering the scene
- during scene demobilization in which personnel are educated about the signs of critical incident stress to give it a buffer To collect themselves before leaving
