Establishing Mechanisms to Help First Responders to Cope with Stress after Incidents - Term Paper Example

Reducing strain and stress for first responders in post incident inquiry or review: Suggestions for change Abstract The following discussion aims at giving some suggestions for change, which can be used to reduce such strain and stress for first responders in post incident inquiries. First responders play a significant role of attending to emergency situations. They respond fast with the intention of helping to reduce the negative consequences caused by the emergency. Following such emergencies, inquiries and reviews may be conducted to analyze the causes and effects of the emergency. Given the traumatic experience associated with most of these emergencies, inquiries into the incidents may cause further strain and stress for first responders. These strains include increased media attention, which worsen the strained family relations. The media usually exposes the first responders to public inquiry, which at times leads to inaccurate information being given to the public. Such information may result in more stress for the first responders, thus emphasizing the need for strategies that can help them deal with such situations. In addition, any action by first responders that affect negatively on the incident causes more stress during post incident reviews. Therefore, first responders require support from the organization to overcome the stress associated with their work. Crisis intervention programs also help in reducing strains, while peer support cannot be ignored. Key words: First responders, stress, post incident inquiry, and strain Reducing strain and stress for first responders in post incident inquiry or review: Suggestions for change Introduction First responders play a significant role of attending to emergencies. They respond fast with the intention of helping to reduce the negative consequences caused by the emergency. Following such emergencies, inquiries and reviews may be conducted to analyze the causes and effects of the emergency. Given the traumatic experience associated with most of these emergencies, inquiries into the incidents may influence negatively on the first responders. This occurs when the inquiries get prolonged, thus increasing posttraumatic stress of the responders, and other strains associated with traumatic events. The media, for example, may expose the first responders to public inquiry, which at times leads to inaccurate information. Such information may result in more stress for the first responders, thus emphasizing the need for strategies that can help them deal with such situations. Therefore, the following discussion aims at highlighting the various ways that can be used to reduce such strain and stress for first responders in post incident inquiries. Additional stress associated with post incident inquiries Many first responders experience posttraumatic stress, following the critical incidents they respond to as they fulfill their call of duty. More to these, they experience strained family relations, as well as inaccurate and sensationalized media attention (Regehr, Johanis, Dimitropoulos, & Hope, 2003). Commitment to their work also diminishes, leading to strains as they struggle to accomplish tasks they do not enjoy. In addition, post incident inquiries rob first responders a sense of vindication, which results in greater strains for the responders. Given these factors, the responders fail to advance their professions as they get disengaged from their work. This heightens their stress levels as their professional lives fail to develop. First responders work in teams in most instances. The incidents they respond to pose great risks to their lives as they risk losing their lives in various incidents. Police officers, for example, may respond to a criminal incident, leading to the death of some of the officers in the process. Firemen also bear the same fate as they may try to rescue the victims of the fire, and die in the process. The first responders who survive such incidents experience difficult times after the incident. In cases where a close colleague dies in an incident, the ones left behind experience immense stress. They suffer from the acknowledgement of the dangerous nature of their work. They get to realize the high chances of losing their lives, thus making them develop strains in their profession. First responders respond to an incident based on the immediately available resources. This means that chances of over-responding or under-responding pose a threat to their work. Given, for example, the absence of adequate detection techniques the first responders may respond in the wrong way, leading to more harm, instead of helping the situation (Steinhausler & Edwards, 2005). A post incident investigation in relation to such a situation may impact negatively on the first responder. He or she undergoes a lot of stress, especially when the organization blames the officer for the outcome. Role of the media in these incidents The media serves as an important tool of communication as it helps in raising awareness of events happening around the world. Consequent to these, when incidents occur, media personnel visit the sites of the incidents to get information about the incident. They seek to find the causes of the incidents, and the actions taken to mitigate the negative consequences of the incidents in question. In conducting such inquiries, the media picks on first responders to give information about the incidents, either during or after the incident. When the inquiries get to be done after the incident, first responders get compelled to remember what happened, which could be traumatic. The narration of such memories may lead to negative consequences as some of the first responders may fail to develop the required resilience to overcome the trauma of the incident. Consequent to these, the media can be seen as a tool that increases the strains experienced by first responders. This emanates from exposing the responders to public inquiry, through asking of questions, and even attending interviews. Ways of reducing strain and stress for first responders in post incident inquiry Developing mechanisms that can support first responders to deal with the traumatic incidents should be emphasized. These include organizational support, crisis intervention services, and peer support programs. Organizational support People in the organizations that have first responders play a significant role in the lives of the responders. They can support them from experiencing strains after incidents, by being supportive to them. Senior managers ought to lead in this area, by showing their support, even when the officers in question undergo post incident reviews. Those that get charged in court can be supported by attendance of the court dates as responding to court charges stresses responders greatly (Regehr, 2003). Attending the court sessions indicates solidarity, thus helping reduce the stress of the first responders. More to these, the management of the organization should refrain from demoting the first responders, or moving them to other duties as it indicates a lack of support. In regard to the media involvement, organizations should protect first responders from the media. They, for instance, should not allow private observations of the responders to be publicly recorded. This ensures that the responders maintain a degree of anonymity and confidentiality, thus lowering the strain associated with the post inquiry process. Peer support programs Peers in the organization can also offer support to first responders facing post incident inquiries. They can provide the first responders with moral support required to make the responders deal with the strains of the inquiry process. One of the ways that peers can help can be through avoidance of gossip that impacts negatively on the self esteem of the first responders. This means that the peers encourage the responders, instead of increasing the stress of the inquiry process. Crisis intervention programs These refer to programs that aim at helping the first responders to overcome the traumatic experiences associated with the incidents. These programs aid first responder in post inquiry reviews as they equip them with the necessary capacities to go through the inquiry process successfully. They include counseling services, which help the responders to deal with the horrible experiences. These professionals provide the responders, as well as their family members with advice on the various ways that they can overcome the traumatic experiences, thus minimizing the chances of posttraumatic stress. Though first responders pledge allegiance to serve the people in traumatic conditions, their resilience needs to be built with time, which makes counseling critically important. Therefore, organizations should ensure that such programs operate effectively, through sufficient funding for them to realize the expected benefits (“OPP Human Resources Bureau”, 2006). Conclusion In conclusion, first responders face a lot of strain and stress in post incident reviews. Consequent to this, establishing mechanisms that can help them to cope with the situation contributes greatly to their well being. The mechanisms, for example, reduce their chances of experiencing posttraumatic stress disorders, guilt feelings, as well as dissatisfaction in their work. Support from senior management helps in strengthening the resilience that the respondents have during the review process. Such resilience makes it easy for them to overcome the negative consequences of the inquiry, thus minimizing their stress levels. In addition to these, support from peers strengthens the respondents to overcome the inquiry period. Peers who do not gossip in the work place, but instead show their support help the respondents to develop a psychological stability, hence reducing strains of the inquiry process. Emphasizing the need for professional support also helps first responders. Though first responders are characterized with the ability to conquer difficult situations, counseling should not be ignored as it helps in preventing unforeseen challenges. References Opp Human Resources Bureau. (2006). Impact of Stress in Policing.OPP Human Resources Bureau. Retrieved from < http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/policy_part/projects/pdf/Tab9_TheImpactofStressonOfficersandtheOPPResponse.pdf> Regehr, C. (2003). Public Inquiries into Deaths in Care: Effects on Emergency Responders. The Australian Journal of Disaster. Regehr, C., Johanis, D., Dimitropoulos, G., Bartram, C. & Hope, G. (2003). The Police Officer and the Public Inquiry: A Qualitative Inquiry into the Aftermath of Workplace Trauma. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Steinhausler, F. & Edwards F. (2005). NATO and Terrorism Catastrophic Terrorism and First Responders: Threats and Mitigation. Dordrecht: Springer. Read More