Violence against Paramedics – When Will it Stop?

Boyle, Malcolm; Wallis, Jaime

doi:10.33151/ajp.13.1.514

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…Additional to contributions to the HRM field, our findings support growing evidence paramedics in Australia and overseas are at very high risk of physical, verbal, and sexual assault (Boyle & Wallis, 2016;van der Velden et al, 2016). Our article responds to calls for deeper understanding and qualitative research on situational risk factors for violence against paramedics and similar occupational groups (Pourshaikhian et al, 2016;Wongtongkam, 2017).…”

Section: Theoretical Implicationssupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Existence of wellresourced and quality systems assist employees to process and rehabilitate from violence and trauma (Kellner, Townsend, Loudoun, Dao-Tran, & Wilkinson, 2019a;Kellner et al, 2019b), or in the case of de-escalation training, potentially reduce the incidence of assault. As noted by others (Boyle & Wallis, 2016), inconsistencies exist in training (resilience and de-escalation) for paramedics and students during tertiary study. Interviewees acknowledge the value of training prior to workforce entry, particularly given identification of age and limited experience as a risk factor.…”

Section: Practical and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Absence or inadequacy of formal training has been highlighted in many studies (see Pourshaikhian et al, 2016 for a review). Compounding this, limited training is provided to student paramedics by tertiary institutions, and training during induction and on-the-job is also reportedly inconsistent (Boyle & Wallis, 2016).…”

Section: Hrm System Responses To Workplace Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such training is also not typically part of the tertiary curriculum. Given evidence one third of student paramedics are exposed to violence during clinical placements (Boyle & McKenna, 2017) there has been a call for educational institutions to better prepare students for such scenarios (Boyle & Wallis, 2016), and some interviewees recognised the value it could bring to quality of care provided:…”

Section: Employee Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Violence at work in the ambulance service: the role of HRM and other systems

Kellner

Townsend

Wilkinson

et al. 2020

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PurposeParamedics' work environment is constantly changing and unpredictable. Controlling environmental risks is difficult for the HR department and requires support of external systems such as unions and policymakers. Acknowledging environmental complexity, and the interaction of external systems, this study examines how the HRM system manages and responds to violence against paramedics.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from three Australian state ambulance services. Detailed accounts from 72 semi-structured interviews are supplemented by 1,216 phone surveys demonstrating the prevalence of assault.FindingsReporting very high levels of assault against paramedics from the survey data, the authors discuss situational risk factors identified by interviewees in the immediate physical environment and broader social context. The authors detail HRM practices adopted by each case and identify how gaps in the HRM system are addressed by other external, industry-level and state/federal-level systems in a multi-layer response to assault against paramedics.Practical implicationsIdentification of individual and situational risk factors and consequences for paramedics enables more targeted prevention, intervention and response. Young and less experienced paramedics are perceived to be at greater risk of assault. Importance of HRM practices particularly de-escalation training is highlighted. Gaps in HRM system require external input, particularly via law enforcement and public education.Originality/valueThis study adopts a holistic and contextualised perspective of HRM to improve understanding of violence against paramedics at work. Combining open systems and multi-stakeholder approaches, the authors adapt Beer et al.'s (1984) seminal Harvard Model of HRM. The authors propose a conceptual map which illustrates relationships between situational risks, key systems, HRM practices and outcomes.

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Section: Theoretical Implicationssupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Practical and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Hrm System Responses To Workplace Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Employee Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Violence at work in the ambulance service: the role of HRM and other systems

Kellner

Townsend

Wilkinson

et al. 2020

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“…Sources of such stress include high acuity patients that decompensate quickly, performance of highintensity procedures, a lack of personal time, and a disruption of social support (LeBlanc, 2009). Paramedics are regularly subjected to emotionally challenging work (Williams), violence (Bigham et al, 2014;Boyle and Wallis, 2016) occupational injury (Maguire et al, 2014), poor physical health status (MacQuarrie et al, 2018;Sheridan, 2019), and the effects of shift-work (Patterson et al, 2012). In addition, operational experiences such as attending hoax calls, missing meal breaks, and interacting with the public appear to influence psychological health, anxiety and stress in paramedics (Brough, 2004) The literature on stress and performance is ambiguous and conflicting; some studies demonstrate no impact or even improvement of task performance, while other studies have demonstrated a negative impact on performance while stressed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of stress on the driving abilities of paramedic students: a pilot, simulator-based study

Duncliffe

D'Angelo

Brock

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background Previous research has suggested that stress may have a negative effect on the clinical performance of paramedics. In addition, stress has been demonstrated to have a negative impact the driving abilities of the general population, increasing the number of driving errors. However, to date no studies have explored stress and its potential impact on non-clinical performance of paramedics, particularly their driving abilities. Methods Paramedic students underwent emergency driving assessment in a driving simulator before and after exposure to a stressful medical scenario. Number and type of errors were documented before and after by both driving simulator software and observation by two observers from the research team. The NASA Task Load Index (TLX) was utilised to record self-reported stress levels. Results 36 students participated in the study. Following exposure to a stressful medical scenario, paramedic students demonstrated no increase in overall error rate, but demonstrated an increase in three critical driving errors, namely failure to wear a seatbelt (3 baseline v 10 post stress), failing to stop for red lights or stop signs (7 v 35), and losing control of the vehicle (2 v 11). Self-reported stress levels also increased after the clinical scenario, particularly in the area of mental (cognitive) demand. Conclusion Paramedics are routinely exposed to acute stress in their everyday work, and this stress could affect their non-clinical performance. The critical errors committed by participants in this study closely matched those considered to be contributory factors in many ambulance collisions. These results stimulate the need for further research into the effects of stress on non-clinical performance in general, and highlight the potential need to consider additional driver training and stress management education in order to mitigate the frequency and severity of driving errors.

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Acil Sağlık Çalışanları için Mesleki Kaygı Ölçeği’nin Geliştirilmesi

Postacı

UYSAL

Koşan

et al. 2020

Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası

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Giriş: Acil sağlık hizmeti sunan personel düzenli olarak çevresel faktörler ve kompleks vakalarda hasta bakımı ile ilgili doğrudan yaşamı etkileyen kritik kararlar vermektedirler. Kaygı bu dönemde sağlık çalışanlarının bilişsel düzeyini kısıtlayabilir ve hayati önem taşıyan kararların ve girişimleri olumsuz etkileyebilir. Yapılan çalışmada acil sağlık hizmeti sunan sağlık personelinin mesleki kaygı düzeylerini geçerli ve güvenilir biçimde ölçen bir ölçme aracının geliştirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem:Betimsel olarak yapılan araştırmada üç faklı gruptan veri elde edilmiştir. Bunlar; ölçek maddelerinin elde edilmesi için açık uçlu soru uygulaması yapılan grup (50 kişilik), açıklayıcı faktör analizi ve güvenirlik analizi yapılan grup (209 kişilik) ve doğrulayıcı faktör analizi yapılan gruptur (201 kişilik). Tüm gruplardaki bireyler acil servis ve hastane öncesi acil sağlık hizmeti sunumunda görev alan sağlık personelidir.

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Violence against Paramedics – When Will it Stop?

Abstract: This editorial looks at the acts of violence against paramedics

Cited by 3 publications

References 7 publications

Violence at work in the ambulance service: the role of HRM and other systems

Violence at work in the ambulance service: the role of HRM and other systems

The effects of stress on the driving abilities of paramedic students: a pilot, simulator-based study

Acil Sağlık Çalışanları için Mesleki Kaygı Ölçeği’nin Geliştirilmesi

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