Experiences and impacts of the post critical incident seminar among rescue and emergency medical service personnel
Sumanen, Hilla (2020)
Sumanen, Hilla
South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-344-258-0
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-344-258-0
Tiivistelmä
Rescue and emergency medical service personnel face traumatic critical incidents during the course of their work. Therefore, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder is not uncommon. The first Finnish three-day-long Post Critical Incident Seminar for rescue and emergency medical service personnel took place in the fall of 2019. The aim of this study was to examine how the participants experienced the three-day seminar, and what kind of impact the seminar had on them.
The participants (n = 12) were interviewed individually 3 to 6 weeks after the seminar. The structured interviews were voice-recorded, the collected data were transcribed, and the latent content was analyzed following the inductive content analysis process. The participant experiences regarding the actual seminar formed two main categories (which contained a further 6 categories and 22 sub-categories): (1) The personal process was filled with emotions, and (2) the atmosphere and arrangements supported the personal process. The impacts of the seminar formed three main categories (which contained a further 7 categories and 24 sub-categories): (1) structure for the past traumatic experience, (2) enthusiasm toward work and the workplace, and (3) increased mental health wellbeing and stability.
The Post Critical Incident Seminar was positively experienced and had several further impacts. As such, a number of further research needs are suggested.
Keywords: firefighter; paramedic; rescue service; emergency medical service; traumatic events; critical incidents
The participants (n = 12) were interviewed individually 3 to 6 weeks after the seminar. The structured interviews were voice-recorded, the collected data were transcribed, and the latent content was analyzed following the inductive content analysis process. The participant experiences regarding the actual seminar formed two main categories (which contained a further 6 categories and 22 sub-categories): (1) The personal process was filled with emotions, and (2) the atmosphere and arrangements supported the personal process. The impacts of the seminar formed three main categories (which contained a further 7 categories and 24 sub-categories): (1) structure for the past traumatic experience, (2) enthusiasm toward work and the workplace, and (3) increased mental health wellbeing and stability.
The Post Critical Incident Seminar was positively experienced and had several further impacts. As such, a number of further research needs are suggested.
Keywords: firefighter; paramedic; rescue service; emergency medical service; traumatic events; critical incidents