EMT ch 2

Ready for Review

  • Your health and wellness are the foundation for your career; without these, you cannot provide care. Wellness includes your mental, physical, and social well-being.

  • Components of wellness include protecting yourself from communicable diseases and scene hazards; maintaining proper nutrition; getting sufficient exercise, relaxation, and sleep; refraining from use of tobacco and inappropriate use of drugs and alcohol; and taking time to relax, engage with others, and enjoy life.

  • Every patient encounter should be considered potentially dangerous. It is essential that you take all available precautions to minimize exposure and risk to scene hazards and infectious and communicable diseases.

  • A communicable disease is any disease that can be spread from person to person or animal to person.

  • Infectious diseases can be transmitted by contact (direct or indirect), or they can be airborne, foodborne, or vector-borne.

  • Even if you are exposed to an infectious disease, your risk of becoming ill is small.

  • Whether or not an acute infection occurs depends on several factors, including the amount and type of infectious organism and your resistance to that infection.

  • You can take several steps to protect yourself against exposure to infectious diseases, including:

    • Keeping up to date with recommended vaccinations

    • Following standard precautions at all times

    • Handling all needles and other sharp objects with great care

  • Because it is often impossible to tell which patients have infectious diseases, you should avoid direct contact with the blood and body fluids of all patients.

  • You should know what to do if you are exposed to an airborne or bloodborne disease. Your department’s designated officer will be able to help you follow the protocol set up in your area.

  • Infection control should be an important part of your daily routine. Be sure to follow the proper steps when dealing with potential exposure situations.

  • If you think you may have been exposed to an infectious disease, see your physician (or your employer’s designated physician) immediately.

  • Scene hazards include potential exposure to the following:

    • Hazardous materials

    • Electricity

    • Fire

  • At a hazardous materials incident, your safety is the most important consideration. Never approach an object labeled with a hazardous materials placard or label. Use binoculars to read the placards or labels from a safe distance.

  • Do not begin caring for patients until they have been moved away from the scene and decontaminated by the hazardous materials team or the scene has been made safe for you to enter.

  • Wearing protective clothing and specialized gear is another important component in preventing injury.

  • Part of your role is to know how to care for critically ill and injured patients. Becoming familiar with interpersonal communication techniques to use in these situations will allow you to communicate with patients and their families in an optimal way.

  • You will encounter death, dying patients, and the families and friends of those who have died. Your appropriate response to grief can have a significant effect on those with whom you work.

  • Recognizing the signs of stress is important for all EMTs. When signs of stress such as fatigue, anxiety, or anger; feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, or guilt; and other such indicators are present, behavioral problems can develop.

  • Violent situations can create many hazards for EMS personnel. If you see the potential for violence during a scene size-up, call for additional resources.

  • Common workplace issues include cultural diversity, sexual harassment, and substance abuse. You should know what to do to avoid or address these situations.

Vital Vocabulary

acute stress reactions – Reactions to stress that occur during a traumatic situation.

aerosol-generating procedure – Treatments that increase the risk for transmission of infections that are spread through the air or by droplets; CPR is an example.

airborne transmission – The spread of an organism via droplets or dust.

bloodborne pathogens – Pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, the hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

burnout – A combination of exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced performance resulting from long-term job stresses in health care and other high-stress professions.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – The primary federal agency that conducts and supports public health activities in the United States. The CDC is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

communicable disease – A disease that can be spread from one person or species to another.

compassion fatigue – A stress disorder characterized by gradual lessening of compassion over time.

concealment – The use of objects to limit a person’s ability to see you.

contamination – The presence of infectious organisms on or in objects such as dressings, water, food, needles, wounds, or a patient’s body.

cover – The actual use of an impenetrable barrier for protection.

critical incident stress management (CISM) – A process that confronts the responses to critical incidents and defuses them, directing the emergency services personnel toward physical and emotional equilibrium.

cumulative stress reactions – Prolonged or excessive stress.

delayed stress reactions – Reactions to stress that occur after a stressful situation.

designated officer – The individual in the department who is charged with the responsibility of managing exposures and infection control issues.

direct contact – Exposure or transmission of a communicable disease from one person to another by physical contact.

distress – A negative response to a stressor.

eustress – A beneficial response to a stressor.

exposure – A situation in which a person has had contact with blood, body fluids, tissues, or airborne particles in a manner that suggests disease transmission may occur.

foodborne transmission – The contamination of food or water with an organism that can cause disease.

general adaptation syndrome – The body’s response to stress that begins with an alarm response, followed by a stage of reaction and resistance, and then recovery or, if the stress is prolonged, exhaustion.

hepatitis – Inflammation of the liver, usually caused by a viral infection, that causes fever, loss of appetite, jaundice, fatigue, and altered liver function.

host – The organism or individual that is attacked by the infecting agent.

human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) – Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by HIV, which damages the cells in the body’s immune system so that the body is unable to fight infection or certain cancers.

immune – The body’s ability to protect itself from acquiring a disease.

indirect contact – Exposure or transmission of disease from one person to another by contact with a contaminated object.

infection – The abnormal invasion of a host or host tissues by organisms such as bacteria, viruses, or parasites, with or without signs or symptoms of disease.

infection control – Procedures to reduce transmission of infection among patients and health care personnel.

infectious disease – A medical condition caused by the growth and spread of small, harmful organisms within the body.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – The federal regulatory compliance agency that develops, publishes, and enforces guidelines concerning safety in the workplace.

pathogen – A microorganism that is capable of causing disease in a susceptible host.

personal protective equipment (PPE) – Protective equipment that blocks exposure to a pathogen or a hazardous material.

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – A delayed stress reaction to a prior incident. Often the result of one or more unresolved issues concerning the incident, and may relate to an incident that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm.

resilience – The capacity of an individual to cope with and recover from distress.

standard precautions – Protective measures that have traditionally been developed by the CDC for use in dealing with objects, blood, body fluids, and other potential exposures of communicable disease.

transmission – The way in which an infectious disease is spread: contact, airborne, by vehicles, or by vectors.

vector-borne transmission – The use of an animal to spread an organism from one person or place to another.

wellness – The active pursuit of a state of good health.