Emergency Medical Services Burnout - Essay Example

? EMS Burn Out Emergency medical services burnout is a medical stress related condition that is suffered by emergency medical personnel as a result of long periods of stress and frustrating working condition. The prolonging of the burn out causing conditions results in the manifestation of various signs or symptoms in person’s key areas of life, affecting him physiologically, physically, output at work place and family relationship. Normally burn out is caused by various factors that include, lack of proper control of schedule, assignments or management of workload , and even the lack of the necessary resources to help us in performing duties (Jones, 2009). If there lacks proper job description and thus no proper goals concerning what is expected from the employee, it is also a recipe for burnout. Situations whereby the boss puts a lot of pressure on the employee and doesn’t give the employee a free hand could also lead to burnout as the employee feels closed in and is likely not to identify with the job and does not derive joy from it.. When the job is always is very demanding and full of traumatic experiences, it could easily be harmful in the long run because burnout is a process that builds up slowly. Low morale, occasioned by inadequate pay, working extra hours for long periods which result in a lot of fatigue and lack of exercise outside the workplace setup are also potential causes of burnout (Jones, 2009). While one is in the place where the job being performed is not what they desire, it also does not bring satisfaction and thus is performed for the sake of it and in due course, it could trigger burnout. It has been found out through research that emergency medical services personnel are affected so much by burnout due their type of occupation which calls for extra input and service due to the extraordinary circumstances which arise day by day. The medical services personnel work under conditions where one cannot anticipate what to expect on a daily basis. While it could be attending to critically injured road accident victims or those injured in industrial accidents or other types of serious accidents, workers in other professions at least have an idea of what to expect at their places of work while emergency medical services personnel expect any eventuality on day to day basis. This could have a major effect on the mind the body, also considering that duty calls for such eventualities to be attended to conclusively so as to best assist the victims (Jones, 2009). The continuous hearing of alarms is bound to physiologically affect the emergency medical worker as the body reacts to the call to take necessary action almost at all occasions. This can raise blood sugar levels, increase the heart beat and blood pressure and constant rising of adrenaline levels where, before the body deals with one emergency, another arises and, this constant intake of pressure is a potent cause of burnout. The emergency medical services personnel regularly work in situations where conditions are potentially tense in the rush to save lives for example in operation theaters or in scenes of accidents, putting the emergency workers regularly under a lot of tension with one another, and this constant tension could eventually build up gradually to contribute to burn out. The exposure too, of the emergency health personnel to scenes of great human injuries and traumatic conditions, in the long run has the potential to bring about burnout in their lives as much of the scenes are psychologically etched in the minds of the emergency medical personnel for a long time. Emergency medical personnel in the military have been known to require a lot of post battle treatment to help remove these experiences from their minds. Workers in other fields may probably never experience such conditions in their period of work in their work places, while the Emergency medical services personnel face such scenarios on a daily basis and thus are prone to becoming traumatized and affected very negatively. The aspect of fear, created by some of the emergency situations they handle can also affect the medical personnel, considering that they have to effectively deal with the situation and also deal with the fear, and this is a trend to be undergone constantly. These stressing conditions are the causes of high levels of burnout in emergency medical services personnel which leads to the tendency of many being unable to work for many years unless there are promoted or moved from the areas where these factors are most prevalent. Research has shown that burn out in emergency medical personnel occurs after 3 to five years of employment generally, but this depends on the assignment one is undertaking (Jones, 2009). If the burn out triggering conditions are not addressed, it is possible to have a much burnt out workforce in due time. The signs of burnout include the following: becoming critical and cynical as one deals with other colleagues at the place of work, feeling uninterested in work and having to force yourself to start working, becoming irritable or having impatience with fellow workers and the people you serve. Other signs are, the lack of energy for continued productivity, lack of satisfaction in the work you are doing, hating the job you are doing, using drugs, alcohol or other things so as to seek satisfaction. There is also the sign of changes in sleeping habits whereby an individual could sleep either more or less than before because the mind is not at rest (Seaward, 2000). There could also be unexplained headaches, backaches or other unexplained illnesses which are as a result of the body’s reaction to extra pressure and unfavorable conditions. All these conditions pile up systematically over a period of time and if they are not addressed in due time, it could result in the individual becoming a psychiatric case as the level of being affected increases. There are many ways to address burn out according to the level to which it has affected an individual. First, it is very important to identify what has led to the burnout as an individual embarks in the healing process. While acute levels require immediate medical attention and solutions, other levels just require the adjustment of the work schedule so as to have a balance between the body’s capability and ability and the duty being performed. While it is important to offer services to the employer, it is important to realize that it should not be done to the detriment of ones health. It is important to give the body enough time to rest so as to allow it to have time to recuperate or renew itself, because this will even increase the level and quality of performance and even give the emergency medical services worker or any other worker job satisfaction (Public Safety Degrees, 2007). Though one could do with fewer hours of sleep, it has been agreed medically that 8 hours or more of sleep give the body enough rest per day. The emergency medical services personnel are constantly forced by circumstances to sleep less and work more and this is bound to take its toll in the long run. Periods of leave are also very necessary, to move away from the monotony and come back rejuvenated. Short and long periods of breaks from work are crucial if burnout is to be avoided. Tea and lunch breaks should not be used to continue working, but a break should be taken from the work being done. Though this would be difficult to implement in the case of emergency medical services personnel, it should be taken into account that the health of the worker is equally important with the work that is being done. Leave should not be forfeited because doing so has the effect of wearing out the worker in the long run. Staying on indefinitely has the effect of draining the strength and making the individual less productive and ultimately is a cause of burnout (Public Safety Degrees, 2007). Workers should have the knowledge that working to receive overtime pay also, could be attractive in the short term but it has long term potential in the contribution to burn out due to the many hours worked that could have been utilized to give the body a very valuable rest. Exercise is very crucial so as to keep the body and the mind in good condition (Seaward, 2000). It is important for organizations to provide facilities and allow for times of recreation as they are of great benefit to the personnel and assist much in improving out put. The worker should have time to relax and enjoy the company of family and friends and also follow their hobbies, rather than have the mind occupied by work all the time. It should never escape the mind of the worker that there is a life outside the work place which is very crucial to the body’s continued output and health. The long hours that emergency medical services put up deny them this valuable time and are bound in the long run to be a contributing factor to burn out. It is important to encourage the sharing of difficult experiences and personal hurts instead of holding them inside (Jones, 2009). Provision of counseling services is an important aspect because some of the problems that could be so explosive in the future could be addressed easily at their onset stages. It should be mandatory for such services to be periodically provided since the emergency medical services are ongoing, and ignoring their provision could prove very detrimental in the long run both to the worker and the individual. The other factor is that though personal responsibility is important, individuals cannot take the whole responsibility of the organization. It is very important to learn to share responsibilities with others as this makes the shared workload and responsibility lighter and manageable (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011). Emergency medical services personnel often have unpredictable responsibilities that are many times beyond their capability to effectively handle, and yet which need to be conclusively accomplished and , the feeling that this has not been done could make the individual place the blame on themselves. It is also very important to be around people who encourage, positively impact upon life and who are role models in life. Staying around people who are negative, impacts negatively upon an individual and lowers their esteem which coupled with some of the aspects listed above increase the likelihood of burnout. It is also important to change the assignment at hand in the organization because a change to a place that is compatible with the worker’s health will benefit both the worker and the organization. If this is not possible, the worker should seriously consider leaving that organization in consideration of their health. Emergency medical services are very crucial due to the emergencies that need to be addressed, which calls for the critical attention upon the issue of emergency medical personnel burnout. References Jones, Steven. (2009). Stress in EMS. NREMT-P. Maughan, D. M. (2009). Using the Complex Model to Change Beliefs Regarding Proactive Coping Behaviors in Emergency Medical Service Trainees. The University of Utah, ProQuest. Mayo Clinic Staff. (2011). Job Burnout: Spotting It and Taking Action. Retrieved on April 19, 2012 from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/burnout/WL00062 Public Safety Degrees. (2007). EMT and Paramedic Burnout - Learning How to Cope. Retrieved on April 19, 2012 from: http://www.publicsafetydegrees.com/articles/paramedicburnout.php Rau-Foster, M. (2009). Burnout - Is it a Burning Issue in Your Company? Retrieved on April 19, 2012 from: http://www.workplaceissues.com/arburnout.htm Seaward, B. L. (2000). Managing Stress in Emergency Medical Services. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Learning Walz, B. J., Krumperman, K. M. and Zigmont, J. (2010). Foundations of EMS Systems. Mason. OH: Cengage Learning. Read More