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  • Essay / Grief in Paramedicine

    As Avraham, Goldblatt, and Yafe (2014) explain, a paramedic is often exposed to traumatic and life-threatening incidents. Being present frequently at these incidents can cause serious damage to their well-being, which can lead to disastrous changes in their mental and physical health. Therefore, in order to maintain well-being, it is important that an EMT has coping mechanisms to deal with stress and grief. Everyone experiences grief, it's a normal human response. However, the process by which mourning takes place is diverse depending on the context of the person (Buglass, 2010). For a paramedic to ensure that they are fully able to support the family and friends of the deceased in the grieving process, they must be aware of the culture and religion of these people (Clements et al. , 2003). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Stress is a major implication of being a paramedic, and it can present itself in several ways. Being involved in incidents resulting in death or abuse can cause symptoms of post-traumatic stress and have a detrimental effect on mental and physical well-being (Bryant & Harvey, 1996). It is often the small events that will stay with a paramedic for life, such as the death of a small child from abuse or the lonely death of an elderly person who has not seen their family for years (Regehr, Goldberg and Hughes, 2002). ). The development of post-traumatic stress symptoms due to exposure to the death of these individuals is called “vicarious trauma.” Vicarious trauma has a destructive impact on the mental and physical well-being of paramedics, as it gives them a negative perception of the world (Pearlman and MacIan, 1995) and contributes to the development of sleep disorders and fear (Chrestman, 1999). However, vicarious trauma is not the only stress paramedics face. The inability to control a situation can also cause significant stress within the allied health sector and lead to clinical errors. The requirement for paramedics to recognize a problem and be able to act immediately often leads them to second-guess themselves; especially if the resolution of the problem is unknown, which can lead to an inability to control a situation (Avraham et al. 2014). Organizational stress is also vast. Shift work is a common cause of organizational stress because schedules are constantly changing, leading to lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation is seen among various shift workers, including nurses, police officers, and paramedics. (Sofianopoulos, Williams & Archer, 2010) High levels of stress cause physical and behavioral changes in an individual. When stressed, the brain sends a distress signal via the nervous system to the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands then release adrenaline. Adrenaline is what causes the “fight or flight” response, which are the physical symptoms of stress (http://www.tuw.edu/content/health/how-stress-affects-the-brain/s .). These symptoms include rapid breathing and increased blood pressure and heart rate. McEwen (2017) states that when an individual is exposed to high levels of stress, this response becomes overused, resulting in “allostatic overload.” He continues to state that allostatic overload damages the cardiovascular, immune and metabolic systems, which can lead to excessive food consumptionfat, loss of sleep, alcoholism and cause depression and anxiety. Chronic stress can also cause a paramedic to become detached from loved ones or miss work for extended periods of time. Recognizing that there is a diversity of stress levels in the allied health sector allows coping mechanisms to be an important part of maintaining well-being. . Often, reenacting and reviewing an event with an associate can help relieve some of the stress. Indeed, the paramedic can often see where he went wrong in the event of a clinical error (Jonsson and Segesten, 2004). If no clinical error has occurred, this gives paramedics confidence that what they did was correct and contributes to the sense of control and confidence needed to reappear (Regeher et.al, 2002). In New Zealand, St. John offers a peer support system and critical incident reporting. There are different types of debriefings, each with a single purpose. For example; defusing tends to allow the rescuer to express their feelings immediately after a critical event, which encourages mental and physical support from other crew members and helps the individual relax. In contrast, operational debriefing is normally carried out by an experienced person who will review the incident and explain what could have been done differently. Paramedics often use this to help them make decisions about future jobs (St. John nd). Having time to rest and relax at the end of the shift is very important in significantly reducing the risk of developing chronic stress (Timmermans, 1999). Talking to loved ones and getting their support after a critical event also reduces symptoms of stress. (Regehr, Hemsworth and Hill, 2001). At the scene of a critical event, taking a quick pause to visualize what to do next can help refresh the mindset and prevent the stress of the event from taking over (Regehr et.al , 2002). Because paramedics are frequently exposed to the afterlife, it is important that they understand the grieving process and recognize that various cultures respond to it differently (Buglass, 2010). There are many theories about the grieving process, most of which are very similar. According to Kubler Ross (1969), there are five stages of grief. These stages are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Although this theory has been widely used, it has been criticized quite often because people often perceive it as following a set pattern or, as Corr (1993) explains, as more of a "defense mechanism." Baier and Bueschel (2012) considered Kubler Ross' theory to be a good theory, but believed that reshaping it could help an individual realize that everyone's response to grief is different. Together they established the "pinball model", very similar to Kubler Ross's theory. However, instead of following a certain pattern, they understood that grief bounced between the first four stages of the theory before acceptance could occur. Hence the name “pinball model”. Linderman (1944) had a similar theory to Kubler Ross, but explains that for acceptance to occur, the grieving person must emotionally disconnect from the deceased and learn to live without them. Buglass (2010) writes that Bowlby's (1973) theory reinforces the process imposed by Linderman by explaining humans' need to attach to others and the emotional suffering that occurs when this bond is unexpectedly severed. Communicating a death notification is a difficult task that..