The Mindful Medic

Did you know approximately 16% of Australia’s total population, which is roughly 1.4 million Australians are classified as shift workers? Negative effects of physical and psychological health have been linked to shift work, as homeostatic circadian rhythmicity plays a vital role in an individual’s performance and behaviour. Adverse effects such as excessive sleepiness, depression, chronic sleep disturbances, insomnia, and cognitive impairments have all been commonly reported in shift workers. Other adverse effects include increased risk of disease such as diabetes, weight gain, cardiac issues, stroke, and cancer. Sleep-wake states, alertness, and mental performance are critical for optimal paramedic care; therefore, there is an obvious importance for all first responders to adopt individual and workplace strategies to cope with shift work and to prevent burnout, maintain wellbeing, and ensure high quality care for patients (Savic, et al., 2019) . Savic, M., Ogeil, R. P., Sechtig, M....

  Following my last post discussing the importance of sleep for shift workers, evidence shows there is a link between sleep loss and an increased risk of obesity. Paramedics are at a higher risk of being physically unfit, obese or overweight, and are more likely to smoke, have higher blood pressures, and higher cholesterol. The importance of paramedic physical health and fitness is vital for optimal patient care as the job requires a lot of manual handling and physical demands such as CPR. Healthy eating refers to a regular diet that consists of a variety of food including fruit and vegetables; carbohydrates; proteins such as meat, fish, and eggs; and dairy products. Unhealthy eating can cause diarrhoea, gas, constipation, and indigestion, whilst also causing sleep disturbances which impede healthy lifestyle habits. There is lack of evidence and knowledge as to whether shift workers should adopt nocturnal eating behaviours, however there are strategies I like to incorporate into my...

Did you know that 51% of reported stressors amongst emergency workers are experiences of traumatic events? This exposure to traumatic events increases risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological distress. Front line workers have an increased risk of developing mental health problems due to the combination of work-related and nonwork-related stressors. Paramedics are subjected to a number of different exposures to traumatic events including disasters, violence, injuries, high work demand, and witnessing death. Stressors for emergency workers not only include re-exposure to traumatic events, but also workplace factors such as lack of support, resource shortages, discrimination, and conflict with management, which additionally increase the risk of depression and PTSD (Kyron, et al., 2019) . Kyron, M. J., Rikkers, W., LaMontagne, A., Bartlett, J., & Lawrence, D. (2019). Work-related and nonwork stressors, PTSD, and psychological distress: Prevalence and attribut...

Mental health. Adverse events. Trauma. Paramedics are unfortunately repeatedly exposed to potentially traumatic events with a common outcome of mental disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or major depression. Predictors such as behavioural traits, maladaptive post-traumatic cognitions, cognitive responses to memories of traumatic events, and social support can be modified through training and coping strategies, however, predictors such as psychiatric history are unmodifiable. Rumination is reportedly common for PTSD patients, therefore presents as a core intervention target for PTSD cognitive therapy. Being in such a diverse and demanding field, I have studied the negative effects on mental health that paramedics endure.   Mental health issues negatively impact work productivity, physical illnesses and disorder, burnout, organisation skills, work and social attendance, and quality of care provided for patients. (Wild, et al., 2016) . Wild, J., Smith, K. V., Th...

Following my recent post about the impact of exposure to traumatic events have on paramedics' mental health and wellbeing, such stress can result in substance abuse and misuse. Occupational stress results from an imbalance between operational demands, personal capacity, and coping strategies. Alcohol and substance misuse is common in all health professions as a coping strategy which further hinders healthy lifestyle practices, impaired performance, poor quality of care and patient outcome, increased absenteeism, and reduced staff retention.  It is uncertain whether substance misuse is a potential cause of PTSD or an outcome of PTSD, however it is evidently prevalent amongst the healthcare worker population. Consequences involved with paramedics and substance misuse include increased risk in harming patients, decreased efficiency in performance, and attrition (Hichisson & Corkery, 2020) . Hichisson, A. D., & Corkery, J. M. (2020). Alcohol/substance use and occupational/...

The biopsychosocial model of health can be broken down into three components, biological, psychological, and social.  The biological aspect refers to physical factors, genetics, and health status which we can evidently see is impacted through paramedic work. We see the relation between lack of sleep and physical changes such as weight gain or poor nutrition which further increases the risk of disease, whilst also linking in with the psychological component.  The psychological aspect of the model refers to an individual’s behaviours, personality, motivations, and cognition which is impacted through the exposure of traumatic events involved with paramedicine. Consequences to this exposure include increased risk of mental health issues such as PTSD or depression which can be linked with the social component.  The social aspect refers to the environment, family, friends, community, and workplace. Absenteeism and isolation from loved ones are a common cause and result of menta...