Burnout to Balance : EMS Stress

by Hopson, Judi Light; Hopson, Emma H.; Dyar, Jeff T.

• ISBN13: 9780130078063
• ISBN10: 0130078069
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

This indispensable self-help guide provides EMS professionals with practical and in-depth advice for coping with stress at work and at home, with proven techniques that will motivate them to personally take control of their stress, achieve a healthy life balance, and avoid job burnout. Presents chapters on escaping overload, finding the support you need, lowering stress at the station, killer job stress, leaders under stress, relationships, time and money management/organizational skills, assessing your career stress, self-assessment and taking control, and having a written career/life plan. Discusses street stress, relationship stress, pressures which result from politics in the workplace, personal financial concerns, time management, self-care issues, and career planning. Numerous case studies provide practical advice from mental health professionals, EMS professionals, and experts on stress management who have made productive changes in their lives to overcome stress.

Table of Contents

1. Escaping Overload.
2. Finding the Support You Need.
3. Lowering Stress at the Station.
4. Killer Job Stress.
5. Leaders Under Stress.
6. Relationships.
7. Time and Money Management-Organizational Skills.
8. Assessing Your Career Stress.
9. Self-Assessment and Taking Control.
10. Writing a Career Plan-Life Plan.
Index.

Excerpts

PREFACE Over the past several years, we have collectively spent over 20,000 hours researching stress management issues for EMS personnel, public safety officers, and health-care employees. In researching those issues, we have learned how resourceful an individual must be in order to manage the pressures of daily life. It takes specific coping skills every step of the way to attain success in one's work life and personal life. This book reveals many of those skills and how to apply them. We have talked with EMTs and paramedics from every state and several Canadian provinces. Law enforcement officers and firefighters who are cross-trained in EMS have shared their perspectives as well. Chaplains, doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, social workers, hospital administrators, EMS administrators, and experts on stress management have also assisted us by sharing their philosophies and experiences. Meeting those of you who have so generously revealed your private stress issues, hopes, dreams, fears, and frustrations has been an interesting journey. For these very personal conversations, we owe you a huge debt. Both responders and administrators have revealed their deepest pain and their most positive experiences. Each,without exception,has expressed the need for more education concerning stress management in the EMS field. Our deepest desire is that our book will meet part of that need. This book is a reader-friendly guide that we perceive as both an educational resource and a career management tool. We believe that readers will refer to it for many years to come. Our approach is to address both work and personal-family issues because life must be managed as a whole. It is virtually impossible to neatly compartmentalize one's areas of responsibilities. We believe that it is easier to make wiser choices on a daily basis if these areas of responsibility can be perceived as flowing together. One of our goals was to compile the best techniques for managing stress in a text that is enjoyable to read. We feel that the personal case studies related herein add richness and depth to the text. In addition, firsthand accounts often make serious subjects easier to digest. These personal stories enhance and give clarity to the educational concepts we want to share. Note that all names have been changed to protect privacy. This book offers much information about how individuals can find and give emotional support, develop healthier relationships, and deal with politics in the workplace. It also emphasizes self-nurturing and career planning. Managing all of the issues of EMS work-related stress is a monumental challenge, especially for those who work in busy urban areas or rural areas with few resources. Some responders are facing "burnout" whereas others are confronted with boredom--often referred to as "rustout"--because of infrequent calls or other problems within a work setting. We address both issues in this text. This book offers advice to steer both newcomers and veterans to dear methods of stress management. Above all, our desire is to offer concrete tips for how stress reduction can be brought under one's controlwithout a great deal of dependence on others.We also want to demonstrate that it is the smallest of control measures that can begin to turn the tide of stress. The methods of stress management we share show readers that making a series of minor changes in several areas is the way to begin. We not only help to identify certain control buttons but also share with readers how to activate them. By consistently taking steps for positive change, one can find more inner harmony and a sense of life satisfaction. We have organized the chapters of the book so that they can be read out of sequence, if the reader so desires. This book is a practical guide interwoven with self-help techniques for both supervisory and nonsupervisory personnel. We inte