Critical incident experiences, related stress and support among Finnish paramedics: A cross-sectional survey study

Hilla Nordquist, Anne Kouvonen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Paramedics work in diverse, demanding prehospital settings. We examined the prevalence of critical incident (CI) experiences, critical incident stress (CI-S), and CI-S association with the intention to leave the paramedic profession, as well as the needed and received support for CI-S among Finnish paramedics. In 2022, n = 427 Finnish paramedics from eight different organizations responded to a modified Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Critical Incident Stress Inventory and reported the CIs experienced during their EMS careers and the related CI-S within the last six months. Statistical analyses were stratified by gender. All the listed 31 CIs had been experienced by the Finnish paramedics, and the experiences increased with work experience, especially among men. CI-S had wide variation, seemed to increase with work experience, and was mainly not associated with the intention to leave the profession. Support for coping with CI-S was most often received from colleagues, then from family members, friends, and to some extent, managers. Because of the inherent nature of the demands and features of the paramedic work, experiencing CIs is unavoidable. Examining effective coping strategies, organizational support, and managerial practices are needed to support highly skilled paramedics in their demanding work. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.]
Original languageEnglish
Article number101367
Number of pages8
JournalInternational Emergency Nursing
Volume71
Early online date16 Oct 2023
DOIs
Publication statusEarly online date - 16 Oct 2023

Keywords

  • Paramedic
  • Emergency medical service
  • Nurse retention
  • Traumatic stress
  • Critical incident
  • Coping

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