How Counselling and Physical Activities Can Help Job-Related Stress and Mental Health for Paramedics - Research Paper Example

How Counselling And Physical Activities Can Help Job-Related Stress And Mental Health For Paramedics? Name Grade course University Instructor Date Abstract The purpose of this research is to determine how counseling and physical activities can help job-related stress and mental health for paramedics. The research will be qualitative in nature, interview transcripts will be employed as the technique for data collection. There will be four transcripts implying that there will be four respondents. The research will start by review published literature from articles and this will be compared from the findings of the research. The literature review will also be backed by a theoretical framework. At the end, there will be appendices of all the interview transcripts used, reflective journal, and thematic data analysis and an ethics form. Literature review Paramedic is a healthcare professional working at in medical case in a hospital. It is considered to be a very sensitive position as there are no indicators or prediction of the expected outcomes (Williams 2013, p.209). Paramedics need to have maximum alert, speed and the potential to respond to emergencies as they may arise. It is out of this that paramedics lack adequate time for themselves, their family and the general social life. Paramedics’ attention is needed any time regardless on whether they are on duty of off-duty and they are needed for long working hours. High job-stress levels among the paramedics in health and community service (HSC) sector arise from the change in sociopolitical, economical and legal considerations that have lead organizational change, long working hours, staff reduction and changes in models of healthcare delivery. For instance in New South Wales, the HCS sector has the biggest number of worker’s compensation claims and this is the case in many Australian states. The New South Wales WorkCover Authority has been forced to review the published literature on job stress specifically in this sector (Dollard 2007, p.417). In their research, Annerstedt et al (2012, p.4) found out that some of the challenges faced by paramedics range from stress related to job up to the effect on mental health. Firth-Cozens & Greenhalgh (2007, p.1018) are of a similar position that stress is prevalent among the paramedics based on the fact they are exposed on trauma every time they are at work. When a patient dies when a paramedic is at work, the n this becomes the worst thing to happen at work for the paramedic as observed by (Hammer et al, 1986, p.537). Such death is a form of uncertainty that forces paramedics to do everything possible to save life thus exposing them to constant pressure (Hawkley & Cacioppo 2007, p.188). Whenever a patient dies in the presence of paramedics, then the death becomes a major cause of job-related stress. Stress among the paramedics may at times fail to be treated because they paramedics may feel hard to seek help from mental health professionals in fear that stigma and being perceived as weak as well as the fear of receiving unsupportive response (Chang et al, 2012, p.405). McCreaddie and Wiggins (2008, p.588) are of the position that counseling by a mental health professional can be of great importance to paramedics as a result of the pressure, stress and trauma that they undergo while on duty. This is also supported by Ohayon (2007, p.210) who argue that paramedics who are under stress of pressure cannot be in a position to deliver output to the expected standards. In their research, Watson et al. (2012, p.643) found out that counseling helps to relieve the burden of stress arising from work by encouraging the paramedic to voluntarily identify the stress and related factors and thereafter seek help in the appropriate time. This is a fact also supported by Christison, Haviland & Riggs (2002, p.258) who argue that stress can be easily combated at the early stages and that when the stress to combated soon enough its effects cannot trickle down to the paramedics when at work and affect their performance. When a paramedic receives a patient in the emergency department when under stress, the situation can be very stressful (Zanjani, Kruger, & Murray 2012, p.194). To avoid such a scenario, counseling will help the paramedic to understand that he or she should remain focused to the objectives of the job and refrain from sideshows that may be destructive and which may add pressure to the job. As a result of the stress, paramedics may not be in a position to plan their time well resulting to them having very fixed schedules. During counseling, paramedics can be taken through some training on how to plan their time as well as how to organize social life (Williams 2012, p.3). This has been the case in the Australian workforce where 17% of the population has nonstandard working hours. Nurses, doctors and ambulance paramedics have been the most affected by this nature of work schedule that result to fatigue and sleep loss (Courtney, Francis & Paxton 2010, p.34). This case is not different in the United Kingdom; a survey involving 560 ambulance workers indicated the prevalence of mental health problems among this group of workers with 10% of the respondent reporting clinical depression, while 22 percent reporting clinical anxiety (Courtney, Francis & Paxton 2010, p.35). Raque-Bogdan et al (2012, p.272) identifies the need for physical activities in order to relieve stress. Specifically, cardiovascular exercise can be very effective in relieving tension among the paramedics. The role of physical activities is to help the paramedics to improve their body strength and gain persistence in order to handle work-related stress (Watson et al. 2012, 644). Theoretical framework The Stress response theory was developed by Horowitz in 1976. He had a long interest in the processing of thoughts, mood and trauma in the filed of Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The theory is based on the psychodynamic observations of normal as well as abnormal bereavement reactions and how people develop individual assumption worlds. According to Horowitz, people faced with trauma first react with an outcry upon realizing that the trauma has occurred (Brewina & Holmes 2003, p.345). The second response is an attempt to assimilate the trauma with the past knowledge. At this level, people are loaded with a lot of thoughts and memory about the trauma such that they are unable to match he trauma with its earlier meaning. As a response mechanism to the tension, psychological defense mechanisms start responding in order to avoid the memories of the trauma and control the rate at which the trauma is being recalled. The main psychological need in reconciling new and old information means that the trauma memories is likely to actively come into consciousness in form of flashbacks, nightmares and intrusions. The consciously experienced trauma memories ensure that an individual is in a position to reconcile the trauma with pre-trauma representations. Method section The current research involved qualitative method in trying to answer the research question. The research employed convenient sampling in which the respondents were interviewed at a convenient and arranged time. The participants were drawn from different ambulance services in order to provide divergent views on the research issue. The techniques used in the research were interview transcripts. Each of the transcripts was administered on an individual respondent; the information provided on by the respondents was confidential but the name of the respondent was not confidential. Qualitative questions Tell me about Experiences of being Paramedic Do you think the influence of the stress will affect the paramedic health and his performance? Describes your stress management striges to deal with stress Has these strategies ever worked for you? What do you think about the reasons which are making a paramedic suffers from stress? Participant information Name of interviewer: Abdulaziz Baghdadi Position of interview Name of interviewee Marital status Age (years) Place of interview 1. Tim engaged 27 Flinders University library 2. Yousif married 33 Flinders Main Library 3. Sam Married 29 Marion Ambulance Service 4. Grey Married 34 Flinders Main Library Analytical processes The information collected was analysed based on two broad issues: whether the participants face stress at work and how he manages the stress. This helped the interview to come up with the general perspective of the issues to be addressed in the research. The interviews indicate one thing in common that paramedics are faced with a common problem of stress. The interviews were guided by a set of ethical issues in order to be successful. First, there was consent in order to ensure that the interview was conducted in the stipulated time and venue. Second, the information provided by the respondent was confidential and would not be disclosed to a third party. Thirdly, the respondent had the right to withdraw. Results section It was clear from all the four interviews that paramedics are encountered by work-related stress. All the respondents indicated that they loved their work even though it was stressing. The respondents indicated that they encountered stress but in different ways. For instance, the first respondent (Tim) noted that “Well I personally love being a paramedic. It is the best job I could think of”. All the four respondents had positive remarks to make when addressing the how the felt about being paramedics. The interviews helped in addressing the main themes of the research. For instance, the first theme of the research was on the perception of the profession by the respondents. This theme dealt with how the respondents perceived the profession and what they feel about it (experience). Each of the four respondents had his own different remark on this theme although they loved their work. For instance, Tim noted that “During my work I faces dilemmas one or twice, while Sam noted that “Well, being a paramedic is not easy as it looks. It requires training and hard working”. Another theme that emerged from the interview was stress-drivers. The research aimed to address the issues that lead to stress among the paramedics. Majority of the respondents noted that they are faced with a challenge of being the first people to respond to fatal accidents and on an emergency case. Grey noted that “Paramedics are the first responders to any emergency situations. They are the first people in the scene of accidents and I think that’s stressful enough” while Yousif indicated that “Paramedics are seeing many bad car accidents, they see many dead people and sometimes they have hard shift working system”. The other theme that the interviews addressed was about stress-management. Being evident from all the respondents that they faced stress, the research aimed to know the management strategies the respondents employed. All the fur respondents agreed that they need some social engagements to relieve stress except Grey who also seek psychologist’s help in addition to spending time with his family. These are Grey’s words on this issue “I have been seeing a psychologist to get through these rough times”. Sam also said “When ever I have a stress full day, I spend more time with family and friend”. Tim and Yousif also noted that they spend some time with family and friends to manage stress. Discussion section The current research was meant to answer the research question “How can counseling and physical activities help job-related stress and mental health for paramedics?” the research has found out paramedics experience stress in the course of work due to the trauma associated with the work. Specifically, the respondents noted that they are the first people to reach the scenes of fatal accidents and are forced to work on an emergency time-schedule. This prompts them to seek strategies to combat the work-related stress. A majority of the respondents indicated that they prefer to engage in social activities like spending time with friends and families. However, only one of the respondents (Grey) who seeks help from a psychologists as well as spend time with his family. On the other hand, Yousif manages stress by being calm, active and attend stress relief seminars. The reasons why the respondents participate in social activities like staying with friends or families and having drinks is to try to forget the traumatic incidences they have encountered in the line of duty. Grey and Yousif can be termed to seek counseling services in what they do while Sam and Tim opted to be active by socializing with friends and family. According to all the four respondents, the strategies worked perfectly for them. The Stress response theory by Horowitz provides a framework of how trauma can be responded to through a psychological process. According to Horowitz, the first instant to respond to trauma is an outcry on seeing the trauma (Brewina & Holmes 2003, p.346). Paramedics are more exposed to such trauma whenever at work; this must happen since it is a psychological process controlled by the brains. The second instance is recalling the trauma and relating it to the past incidences but the brain controls the chances of remembering the past trauma. Counseling and physical activities can help in preparing the paramedics when they are encountered with trauma on their daily work. Counseling would help them to be prepared psychologically on how to encounter trauma while physical activities help them to build energy to handle stress. When the paramedics engage in social activities, the try to forget the work-trauma and are able to return to work stronger. From the reviewed literature, it is evident that most researches conducted recommend paramedics to undergo counseling and participate in physical exercises in order to relieve stress. Studies conducted have found out the importance physical activities and counseling in relieving stress among the paramedics. For instance Raque-Bogdan et al (2012) research stressed the need for physical activities in order to relieve stress. Specifically, the researchers noted that physical activities helped to improve body strength and promote persistence in order to be in a position to handle work-related stress. Other studies have recommended the need for counseling for paramedics. For instance Watson et al. (2012) research supports counseling in that paramedics are in a position to voluntarily identify the stress factors and can be guided to how to address the problem by mental healthcare professionals. As Grey and Yousif noted, they do not face any stress problems at work since they visit psychologists and stress-relieve seminar respectively. In conclusion, further research will need to be done regarding how social activities can be of use in minimizing stress amongst paramedics. The research question had not focused on the role of social activities but it emerged that all the respondents engage in social activities in addition to counseling and physical activities. None of the respondents complained that social activities were ineffective in relieving stress implying that there is a gap in this research. However, counseling and physical activities remain as the most important activities in relieving stress since during counseling paramedics, can also be informed on why there is need to engage in social and physical activities. Reference List Annerstedt et al, 2012, Green qualities in the neighbourhood and mental health – results from a longitudinal cohort study in Southern Sweden. BMC Public Health, Vol.12 No.337, pp1- 12. Brewina, C. & Holmes, E. 2003, Psychological theories of posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, Vol.23, pp 339–376. Chang, G. et al, 2012, Bottlenecks in the Emergency Department: the psychiatric clinicians' perspective. General Hospital Psychiatry, Vol. 34, pp403–409. Christison, G.W., Haviland, M.G., & Riggs, M.L., 2002. The Medical Condition Regard Scale: measuring reactions to diagnoses. Academic Medicine Vol.77, pp 257–262. Courtney, J., Francis, A., & Paxton, S., 2010, Caring for the carers: Fatigue, sleep, and mental health in Australian paramedic shiftworkers. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Organisational Psychology, Vol.3, pp 32–43. Dollard, M., LaMontagne, A., Caulfield, N., Blewett, V. & Shaw, A. 2007, Job Stress in the Australian and International Health and Community Services Sector: A Review of the Literature. International Journal of Stress Management, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp 417–445. Firth-Cozens, J., & Greenhalgh, J. 2007, Doctors’ perceptions of the links between stress and lowered clinical care. Social Science and Medicine, Vol.7, pp 1017–1021. Hammer, J. et al, 1986, Occupational Stress Within the Paramedic Profession: An Initial Report of Stress Levels Compared to Hospital Employees. Annals of Emergency Medicine, Vol.48, pp 536-539. Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. 2007. Aging and loneliness: Downhill quickly? Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol16, pp 187–191. McCreaddie, M., & Wiggins, S., 2008. The purpose and function of humour in health, health care and nursing: a narrative review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 61, No.6, pp 584-595. Ohayon, M. M. 2007, Epidemiology of depression and its treatment in the general population. Journal of Psychiatric Research, Vol.41, No.3–4, pp 207–213. Raque-Bogdan, T. et al, 2012, Attachment and Mental and Physical Health: Self-Compassion and Mattering as Mediators. Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol. 58, No. 2, pp 272– 278. Watson, D. et al. 2012, Evidence From the Scene: Paramedic Perspectives on Involvement in Out-of-Hospital Research. Annals of Emergency Medicine Vol. 60, No. 5, pp 641-49. Williams, A. 2013, The strategies used to deal with emotion work in student paramedic practice. Nurse Education in Practice, Vol.13, pp 207-212. Williams, B., Brown, T, Boyle, M, & Webb, V., 2012, The Medical Condition Regard Scale (MCRS): An examination of its factor structure using paramedic students. Nurse Education Today, Vol.9, No.27, pp 1-6. Zanjani, F., Kruger, T., & Murray, D., 2012, Evaluation of the Mental Healthiness Aging Initiative: Community Program to Promote Awareness About Mental Health and Aging Issues. Community Mental Health Journal, Vol. 48, pp 193–201. APPENDICES Appendix 1: transcript 1 Transcript Preliminary Data Analysis It is a lovely day here at flinders library. Am setting with Tim who is my first interviewee and I will ask him about job-related stress and stress counselling in the Ambulance Service. Please Tim tell us how do you personally feel about being a paramedic Thank you Aziz. Well I personally love being a paramedic. It is the best job I could think of. Tell me about Experiences of being Paramedic. Well I’ve been a paramedic for 3 years now after graduating with bachelor of health science. . How long have you worked on your present shift system? For years, I’ve been working two 10-hour day shifts and two 14-hour night shifts each week, but many report doing overtime in addition to their rostered 48 hours What do you think about the reasons which are making a paramedic suffers from stress? For me, I faced many ugly accidents and death situations. In addition, long hours with rest will eventually cause stress and fatigue. Being a paramedic, what is your idea about the relation between stress results of emotion work? Both are connected Could you please tell us what is your experiencing about stress I hade to come a cross a couple of stressful situations during my work, but I wouldn’t say that I had stress. Do you think that stress could affect paramedic’s family or friends or Co-workers in shift work? Stress is a serious mental issue and it will definitely affect the people around the paramedics Do you think the influence of the stress will affect the paramedic health and his performance Yes it will. Through your experiences have you ever handled death notification and It was stressfully?? No thank god Have you ever lost a patient en route to the hospital? What happened? Hum, I never lost a patient in the back of the ambulance. All patients were alive on the way to the hospital. Describe how you may be affected by pediatric deaths and injuries Babies are so little and cute. I never had been in a baby death situation, but I’ve been in baby trauma and it was so sad and fragile. Describes your stress management striges to deal with stress Ummm if I felt that I was stressful I would go out and meet friends for drinks. Anything to keep my mind busy. Has these strategies ever worked for you? Honestly, I never complained. Appendix 2: transcript 2 Transcript Preliminary Data Analysis I am here with my Saudi Arabian friend Yousif doing my second interview on job-related stress and stress counselling in the ambulance service. Please Yousif tell us how do you personally feel about being a paramedic Thank you and hello. I personally like to a paramedic. I like to help people. Tell me about Experiences of being Paramedic. Being a paramedic will put me in a road where I see and help many people and have a very wide experiencing. How long have you worked on your present shift system? The working shift in Saudi Arabia is different that here. In Saudi Arabia, we worked for years the only shift system is that we work 12 hours for three days and have three days off. The system changes around busy season such as summer and Hajj season. The shift system changes to be 12 hours working and 12 hours rest during the whole season depends on duration. It’s very hard to work during these seasons, but we get over-time bonus, which is very rewarding. What’s Hajj season? Hajj is a yearly season were Muslims from around the world come to MECCA for one month to do Hajj. Each year their number is growing. Last year 3 million people were estimated to visit. That why we work double shift over-time. What do you think about the reasons which are making a paramedic suffers from stress? Paramedics are being called to any emergency kind situations. Paramedics are seeing many bad car accidents, they see many dead people and sometimes they have hard shift working system. I think all these factors might cause stress to paramedic. Being a paramedic, what is your idea about the relation between stress results of emotion work? I would say that the more paramedic be in stressful times, they are more likely to develop stress. Could you please tell us what is your experiencing about stress I have been in stressful work kind for a while after I stated working in ambulance. Do you think that stress could affect paramedic’s family or friends or Co-workers in shift work? Yes Do you think the influence of the stress will affect the paramedic health and his performance Yes it is related Through your experiences have you ever handled death notification and It was stressfully?? Hummm Yes I have and was very hard Have you ever lost a patient en route to the hospital? What happened? No and hopefully never Describe how you may be affected by paediatric deaths and injuries It is very sad and difficult to treat pediatric, they are always crying, which makes it even harder Describes your stress management striges to deal with stress I deal with stressful situations by being clam and active and attend stress relief seminars. Has these strategies ever worked for you? Yes all the time. Appendix 3: Transcript 3 Transcript Preliminary Data Analysis It is a lovely day here at Marion Ambulance Station. Am setting with Sam who is my third interviewee and I will ask him about job-related stress and stress counselling in the Ambulance Service. Please Sam tell us how do you personally feel about being a paramedic I love being a paramedic; I can’t see myself doing anything else. Tell me about Experiences of being Paramedic. Well, being a paramedic is not easy as it looks. It requires training and hard working How long have you worked on your present shift system? I have been working for 4 years What do you think about the reasons which are making a paramedic suffers from stress? I think the reason is that paramedics see and face some ugly situations daily and that may cause stress if no seeking for help. Being a paramedic, what is your idea about the relation between stress results of emotion work? The relationship between stress and emotions at work, paramedics who have stress show up to work with an occupied and distance mind that will affect theirs job outcome. Could you please tell us what is your experiencing about stress I never experience stress. Do you think that stress could affect paramedic’s family or friends or Co-workers in shift work? Stress will affect all around paramedics Do you think the influence of the stress will affect the paramedic health and his performance Yeas definitely. Paramedics with busy mind have poorer job outcome. Through your experiences have you ever handled death notification and It was stressfully?? Yeas I did handle death notification to patient’s relatives and friends as much as I tried to avoid them and it was really stressful Have you ever lost a patient en route to the hospital? What happened? We had a complication with a patient at the back of the ambulance once. He was middle-aged man with a heat condition. His heart stopped working all of the sudden and I started CPR until we got to the hospital. After taking him to the emergency room, the hospital staff kept doing CPR but not fr long, he then passed away. Describe how you may be affected by paediatric deaths and injuries Babies are most difficult patients. They are small and cant talk to describe their feelings. On top of that, pediatric and newborn death is the worst situation I could think of. Describes your stress management striges to deal with stress When ever I have a stress full day, I spend more time with family and friend Has these strategies ever worked for you? All the time. Appendix 4: transcript 4 Transcript Preliminary Data Analysis I am here with my friend Grey at Flinders main campus doing my fourth and last interview on job-related stress and stress counselling in the ambulance service. Please Grey tell us how do you personally feel about being a paramedic Thank you aziz. I have been a paramedic for almost 10years. I started as a volunteer when I was a student and I graduated with bachelor of health sciences in paramedic. Tell me about Experiences of being Paramedic. We paramedics face new situations everyday and I would say everyday is a new experience. How long have you worked on your present shift system? I have been working a standard four-on, four-off roster; two 10-hour days followed by two 14-hour night shifts, then four days off for a couple of years now. What do you think about the reasons which are making a paramedic suffers from stress? Stress is a nasty thing to have in our line of work. Paramedics are the first responders to any emergency situations. They are the first people in the scene of accidents and I think that’s stressful enough. Being a paramedic, what is your idea about the relation between stress results of emotion work? Emotional labor is connected with stress. Could you please tell us what is your experiencing about stress I did suffer from job-related stress when I started working in the ambulance. The first few months after graduation were the hardest becauseI was stressed about handling situations on my won and I carrying on much more serious responsibilities. Do you think that stress could affect paramedic’s family or friends or Co-workers in shift work? Yes it will have a negative affect on people around paramedics like families and friends. It might also have a positive effect if family and friends decided to support the paramedics Do you think the influence of the stress will affect the paramedic health and his performance Yes it will. Paramedics with street will have a poor job outcome Through your experiences have you ever handled death notification and It was stressfully?? It is always hard to handle death notifications. In my opinion, this is the part that I might never get used to. But throughout my working days, I handled a couple of death notifications and they were so heavy to carry on Have you ever lost a patient en route to the hospital? What happened? Unfortunately yesI have. I always thought that if I was good at my job, I will not lose anyone, but what I found out is that I cant save everybody. One day my partner and me responded to high priority job. It was a 77 years old man who had a heart attack. When we arrived to the scene, the old man was on the floor unconscious. We immediately started treating him as there was weak pulse and he was barely breathing. We took to the back of our ambulance and head to the nearest hospital. My partner was the driver and was attending the old man, and we were very close to the hospital, he went into a cardiac arrest. I immediately started CPR and medication and we were just a few steps away from the ED. The old man didn’t make Describe how you may be affected by paediatric deaths and injuries Pediatric deaths are the worst. Pediatrics accidents always leave me vulnerable and I always feel that they are so innocent Describes your stress management striges to deal with stress The first step to any problem is admitting the problem. I admit that I suffer from stress and anxiety and I have been seeing a psychologist to get through these rough times. Also talking and swapping stories with friends and college are really helpful Has these strategies ever worked for you? Honestly, yes Appendix 5: face Sheet 1 Participant ID _101_____ Interviewer Name: Abdulaziz Baghdadi Date/Time Interview 27-April 14:00 Place of Interview Flinders University library __________ Participant Profile Male, 27, engaged___________ Comments on Interview the interview shows that paramedics do face stressful situations and their management of stress. Issues emerging from interview: Paramedics may face long term stress and mental health isuues. Any issues to follow up in subsequent interviews I would like to know more about their stress management technics and if its working. Appendix 6: face Sheet 2 Participant ID _102_____ Interviewer Name: Abdulaziz Baghdadi Date/Time Interview 30- April 11:00 Place of Interview Flinders Main Library__________ Participant Profile Male, 33, married_____________ Comments on Interview Paramedics in Saudi Arabia also have stress. I tried to get an idea on how other paramedics manage stress. Issues emerging from interview: Paramedics in Saudi Arabia deal with stressful situations in different ways, but the idea is the same. Any issues to follow up in subsequent interviews Yousif is the only international paramedic interview. I don’t think there will be other international paramedics. Appendix 7: face Sheet 3 Participant ID 103_____ Interviewer Name: Abdulaziz Baghdadi Date/Time Interview 1-May 13:00 Place of Interview Marion Ambulance Service__________ Participant Profile Male 29, married_____________ Comments on Interview paramedics are bound to face stressful times in their career. ______________________________________ Issues emerging from interview: All paramedics found it really hard and stressful when attending paediatrics patients Any issues to follow up in subsequent interviews Is there any technics to manage stress? Appendix 8: face Sheet 4 Participant ID 104_____ Interviewer Name: Abdulaziz Baghdadi Date/Time Interview 23-april 13:30 Place of Interview Flinders Main Campus__________ Participant Profile Male, 34, single____________ Comments on Interview being a paramedic is good, but it requires more hard work. ______________________________________ Issues emerging from interview: The long hours may have a effect on paramedic’s mental health. Any issues to follow up in subsequent interviews Different methods to manage stress are always effective. Appendix 9: thematic data analysis Main research Question: How can counseling and physical activities help job-related stress and mental health for paramedics? Thematic analysis: Working system Job-related Social Management Solutions Long hoursshifts. Doing overtime more often. Long overtime during hajj season Long overtime during summer Car accidents. Facing death. Fatigue. Attending all emergency jobs. Paramedics are the first to response. Losing patient on the job. Dealing with injured babies. Affects paramedic’s mental health. Affects paramedic’s performance Affects families and friends around paramedics. Being jugged by other people, especially co-workers (Stigmatization). Stay calm. Being physically active. Counseling. Spend more time with family. Seek professional help. Social interactions. Attend job related seminars. Admitting the problem. Talking with friends and co-workers. Appendix 10: ethics form Who are you? Interviewer: Abdulaziz Baghdadi Which method will you use? Qualitative research How will you access participants? Convenient sample What sampling approach will you use? Convenient sampling Data collection method Interview transcript Ethical issues Participant profile Name of interviewer: Abdulaziz Baghdadi Position of interview Name of interviewee Marital status Age (years) 1. Tim engaged 27 2. Yousif married 33 3. Sam Married 29 4. Grey Married 34 Appendix 11: reflective journal The research has helped me to improve my understanding on what paramedics really mean. I thought it was an easy job considering that it only involves driving. However, I did not know the kind of stress that paramedics go through. The truth is that the work is involving and is associated with a lot of stress considering that paramedics work on emergency cases and have to work long hours in a day. Therefore, there must be work-related stress in a job of this manner. One important thing I learnt is that there stress can be contained through counseling and physical exercise. All the four respondents clearly stated that they like their work despite the challenges it is associated with. I learnt from the respondents that it is important to have a coping mechanism that can help relive the stress; this could be engaging in social activities, counseling, being active or engaging in physical activities. Read More

When a paramedic receives a patient in the emergency department when under stress, the situation can be very stressful (Zanjani, Kruger, & Murray 2012, p.194). To avoid such a scenario, counseling will help the paramedic to understand that he or she should remain focused to the objectives of the job and refrain from sideshows that may be destructive and which may add pressure to the job. As a result of the stress, paramedics may not be in a position to plan their time well resulting to them having very fixed schedules.

During counseling, paramedics can be taken through some training on how to plan their time as well as how to organize social life (Williams 2012, p.3). This has been the case in the Australian workforce where 17% of the population has nonstandard working hours. Nurses, doctors and ambulance paramedics have been the most affected by this nature of work schedule that result to fatigue and sleep loss (Courtney, Francis & Paxton 2010, p.34). This case is not different in the United Kingdom; a survey involving 560 ambulance workers indicated the prevalence of mental health problems among this group of workers with 10% of the respondent reporting clinical depression, while 22 percent reporting clinical anxiety (Courtney, Francis & Paxton 2010, p.35). Raque-Bogdan et al (2012, p.272) identifies the need for physical activities in order to relieve stress.

Specifically, cardiovascular exercise can be very effective in relieving tension among the paramedics. The role of physical activities is to help the paramedics to improve their body strength and gain persistence in order to handle work-related stress (Watson et al. 2012, 644). Theoretical framework The Stress response theory was developed by Horowitz in 1976. He had a long interest in the processing of thoughts, mood and trauma in the filed of Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The theory is based on the psychodynamic observations of normal as well as abnormal bereavement reactions and how people develop individual assumption worlds.

According to Horowitz, people faced with trauma first react with an outcry upon realizing that the trauma has occurred (Brewina & Holmes 2003, p.345). The second response is an attempt to assimilate the trauma with the past knowledge. At this level, people are loaded with a lot of thoughts and memory about the trauma such that they are unable to match he trauma with its earlier meaning. As a response mechanism to the tension, psychological defense mechanisms start responding in order to avoid the memories of the trauma and control the rate at which the trauma is being recalled.

The main psychological need in reconciling new and old information means that the trauma memories is likely to actively come into consciousness in form of flashbacks, nightmares and intrusions. The consciously experienced trauma memories ensure that an individual is in a position to reconcile the trauma with pre-trauma representations. Method section The current research involved qualitative method in trying to answer the research question. The research employed convenient sampling in which the respondents were interviewed at a convenient and arranged time.

The participants were drawn from different ambulance services in order to provide divergent views on the research issue. The techniques used in the research were interview transcripts. Each of the transcripts was administered on an individual respondent; the information provided on by the respondents was confidential but the name of the respondent was not confidential. Qualitative questions Tell me about Experiences of being Paramedic Do you think the influence of the stress will affect the paramedic health and his performance?

Describes your stress management striges to deal with stress Has these strategies ever worked for you? What do you think about the reasons which are making a paramedic suffers from stress? Participant information Name of interviewer: Abdulaziz Baghdadi Position of interview Name of interviewee Marital status Age (years) Place of interview 1.

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