Burnout. When some people hear this word, they may think of a tire screeching against concrete and smoke flying everywhere. In this case, screeching tires are replaced by tired and exhausted prehospital workers. The emergency world interprets the term “burnout” as that of a first responder who no longer feels anything. They no longer have the enthusiasm to answer their calls. Many of them have night terrors throughout the night that keep them awake. A direct consequence of this is feeling exhausted for long periods of time. It is primarily paramedics and EMTs (emergency medical technicians) who suffer from burnout. The number and type of calls they make add up over time. Calls that were once adrenaline-filled turn into a boring ride to the hospital and back. Eventually, it will slowly tear them down, one team at a time. With so many countless calls and traumatic events, anyone could understand why most of these first responders lose contact. Added to long days, lost sleep and nightmares, burnout is inevitable. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayOne of the big killers in the world is stress. In an ambulance, stress is not a foreign feeling. This career has many stressors that can affect a person. Age is an overlooked element in these careers. Practicing paramedics have a wide range of ages. For example, there are doctors aged twenty or younger. Scientists have discovered that the human brain does not fully develop until the age of twenty-five (Backberg). That being said, these underdeveloped twenty-year-olds perform traumatic, sometimes life-threatening tasks. The human brain is not supposed to see this kind of blood, let alone an underdeveloped brain. In addition to being immature, the majority of the public does not trust an EMS worker under the age of twenty-five. Most believe they are not mature or intelligent enough to handle these responsibilities. Often this leads the young paramedic to despair. Sometimes when they try to help, they don't believe in their knowledge or skills. That being said, older paramedics have their issues as well. On the other side of age, that's where most of these burned-out doctors are. Since they have run and experienced many fatal consequences during their careers, they are at greater risk. Another significant form of stress comes from traumatic calls. Most bloody calls are the result of car accidents, falls, suicides or fights. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, “37,133 people were killed in traffic crashes on U.S. roads in 2017…” (1). This represents an average of 102 deaths per day due to car accidents. Most of the time, these calls aren't the worst. Usually, the ones that touch us closest are the ones that have the most impact. “Close to Home,” meaning EMS providers connecting patients with their own families. There may be days when the EMT or paramedic may need to make a call for the patient to remind them of their loved ones. Sometimes these calls result in the death of children or infants. As one might assume, no one likes working with babies or young children. Especially when they have their own children or the outcome is fatal. One of the ugliest/worst feelings in the world isto respond on site to a dead on arrival (DOA). These calls can have harmful consequences on mental health. These patients can die by decapitation, suicide, gunshot or infection. These calls are pretty horrible and the worst part is that the first responders can't help. All the courses, time spent doing clinics, and calls made in the past do not affect the outcome of these situations. These calls are sometimes burned into their brains. Every time they close their eyes, they see this image painted on the back of their eyelids. Have you ever looked at the schedule and found a bit of overtime? The first feeling that comes to mind is anger at the manager for scheduling more work than usual. Well, for EMS workers, this is not uncommon. On average, a regular work week consists of seventy-two hours or more. Depending on the company, this generally represents three twenty-four hour shifts. At other companies, employees may work forty-eight or even seventy-two hours straight. This means the crew could make calls all day and night. No matter what time it is, if that ambulance is called, they have to take it. This could not give any sleep to the teams on duty. Especially if they have to take a transfer late at night. Transfers take a patient from one hospital to another medical facility. Sometimes these transfers can take two to four hours one way, meaning four to six hours are taken away from valuable sleep. As everyone knows, sleep is sometimes more valuable than gold. In addition to working an insane number of hours, these EMS providers must work in all weather conditions. Whether it's blistering cold or sweltering hot, every time a car gets stuck in the ditch at three in the morning, the ambulance has to come (Fleshner). Another consideration is when roads are covered in ice. These ambulances should respond within a maximum of ten minutes. If the paramedic tries to rush, he or she could cause an accident. Local paramedics often respond to events. Many of these events may include races, Special Olympics or county fairs. Throughout the event, the crew must be ready at all times. Events like the Polar Plunge, which occur in the winter, require these EMTs or paramedics to be exposed to the cold. The crew must stand outside and prepare for what may happen to them. One of the complaints most paramedics and EMTs have is their pay. Most of them believe that they deserve a more adequate salary for what they do. On average, for example, Chicago paramedics earn an annual salary of $40,788 (HOME). Whereas nurses can go to school for the same amount of time and earn much more. This often leads to friction between hospital and pre-hospital workers. Another common problem is that the highest degree most paramedics can attain is an associate's degree. With a higher degree, paramedics could get a pay increase. So the question persists: “Why would students study to become a paramedic when they could spend the same amount of time in school as a nurse and earn less?” ". All of this usually leads emergency medical services workers to change their specialization to nursing. A natural effect of the late night calls and the medical condition of these patients is a nightmare. Seeing flashes of mangled cars in dreams or patientsdying in the arms of a paramedic. These are images that can be seen by pre-hospital responders. Most of the time, the dreams they have about their work are not pleasant. Even less if they sleep enough to dream. Jim Fleshner, an experienced paramedic, explains this a little more: “So basically, after making all these horrible calls and making a lot of calls, it happens to you. You start having trouble sleeping because you sometimes see patients who have died. This can lead to even bigger problems if not handled properly. The “worst problems” Jim talks about are PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is very common, not only in the medical field but in many careers. After experiencing terrible events over and over again and if the stress is not managed well, this stress disorder will come knocking. The worst part is that no matter how hard the provider tries, there is no way to completely relieve this stress. Inevitably, there will always be bad calls that upset them. As mentioned earlier, it’s the calls that hit close to home that hit the hardest. They are the ones who ruin people's work. The career expectancy of a paramedic is only five years (Elias). Why so short? These doctors can't handle even the minimum amount of sleep and traumatic calls are made to them every shift. Most of them attend therapy regularly. This could help relieve additional stress. Especially if these paramedics work in large cities, where the risk of traumatic calls is increased. As mentioned, all this stress leads to nightmares. These nightmares lead to minimal sleep. Lack of sleep leads to fatigue. It's all just a domino effect that causes the last piece to fall into burnout. The scariest aspect of sleep deprivation, aside from health issues, is the level of care provided. If the EMS provider is sleep deprived and “out of the game,” services may not be adequate. This means that the paramedic or EMT could cause more unintentional harm to the patient. Another important point is that the doctor might think the call is absurd. Seeing many calls where the patient fakes their pain or exaggerates it disproportionately, the doctor experiences a sense of disbelief from his patients. It could also lead to less empathy on the part of the rescuer. Which is not fair to the patient, whatever their case. Loss of energy can lead to a decrease in work level. Long work days start to take a toll on the body and the brain says “no more”. Eventually, the feeling of not wanting to go to work begins to set in. The thought of working 24 or 48 hours starts to drive the paramedic crazy, making them want to stay home or work fewer shifts per week. Not working during their shifts results in lower pay; which leads to less happiness and more stress. When an average worker thinks about their job, the first thing that comes to mind is money. Money is part of any career, but happiness is what sustains the work. If these paramedics can't enjoy or be satisfied with their work, it's over for them. They don't have a huge payroll to keep them at bay, so they have to have a good feeling about their job. Throughout the journal, the causes of burnout have been explained. The main question still remains unanswered: “How to prevent burnout?” ". Well, there are many ways for these.