Emotional labour in paramedic practice: student awareness of professional demands

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore student paramedics' awareness of the emotional demands of their future role, particularly regarding the delivery of compassionate care. Problem: There is a dominance of nursing literature in the discourse around compassionate care and emotional labour, and a paucity of research in the paramedic literature. Methods: A survey was issued to a small convenience sample of paramedic students. Excel was used to organise data collected, which was then presented graphically as tables and charts. Results: Key findings were drawn out and it was found that there were some correlations between the literature reviewed and results generated. Conclusion: Student paramedics had identified factors affecting their emotions in placement very early on in their studies. There was evidence of students covering up their emotions whilst in placement. The research reinforced the need for further larger scale and longitudinal studies.

Altruism in Paramedicine: A Scoping Review

“…Of the 27 articles included, ten originate from Sweden [ 14 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] and an eleventh from both Sweden and Spain [ 26 ]. Five articles originate from the USA [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ] and another five from the United Kingdom [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. Three articles originate from Canada [ 6 , 37 , 38 ] while one each hail from Australia [ 39 ], Denmark [ 40 ], and Norway [ 41 ].…”

“…Seven articles explored paramedic education related to aspects of caring in areas such as: mindfulness [ 29 ], palliative care [ 38 ], emotional labour [ 32 ], self-harm [ 33 , 35 ], core values [ 31 ], empathy [ 39 ], and caring science [ 24 ].…”

“…Given that altruistic, compassionate, and caring practice positively impacts patient experience, it is important to consider caring education in paramedicine. This review has identified that paramedic education in mindfulness [ 29 ], ethics [ 34 , 41 ], and empathy [ 39 ] are important, as is an understanding of student awareness of emotional labour [ 32 ]. Ducar et al found that the introduction of a ‘mindfulness for healthcare providers’ program for EMS personnel significantly reduced burnout and increased compassion, satisfaction, and mindfulness scores [ 29 ].…”

“…Compassion was described as the intelligently kind way to deliver care, inclusive of empathy, respect, and dignity. Jennings concluded that a proper understanding of student awareness of emotional labour would facilitate the appropriate incorporation of compassionate care into course curricula [ 32 ].…”

“…The authors suggest that interpersonal aspects of care are considered in clinician education and development. Theme 1 Jennings, K UK [ 32 ] 2017 Quantitative 32 paramedic students surveyed The authors identified limited literature regarding emotional labour in paramedicine. Paramedic students surveyed indicated an awareness of their emotions and the perceived need to cover these up.…”