The occupational demands of public safety communicators has led to conditions such as high levels of stress, anxiety and PTSD1-4
The primary objective of this study was to determine the ability of an Emergency Communication Nurse (ECN) to appropriately identify the Abdominal Pain Chief Complaint Protocol to use to triage patients in low-acuity cases. The secondary objectives were to establish the most frequently used primary triage code (Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS®) Determinant Codes), triggering the use of the Abdominal Pain Chief Complaint Protocol in the Emergency Communication Nurse System™ (ECNS™), as well as the percentage of these calls resulting in a Recommended Care Level (RCL) of “emergency a
The overall objective of the study was to determine whether layperson callers can effectively stop simulated bleeding using an improvised or a commercial tourniquet, when provided with scripted instructions via phone from a trained protocol-aided EMD.
Studies have cited dispatcher claims of significant emotional, mental, and physical stress as a result of their work, however, there is very little literature that ranks in order of prevalence or severity the factors contributing to overall stress specific to emergency dispatchers. The aim of this study is to collect data that will complement other research findings in this field to inform the development of new programs designed to address specific factors contributing to dispatch stress and build better psychological health among this group.
In emergency dispatching, providers often arrive and find a situation completely different from the EMD Coding. Guilford County Emergency Services recently added BLS units to our fleet and wanted to match determinant codes to the correct responses to allow the ALS level providers to be available for higher priority calls. We looked at the on-scene primary impression recorded by the provider as well as the level of service.
There are many recent articles published in scientific literature on the topic of work-related stress. However, these studies focus on the effects of stress on the workers and not on the impact that stress could have on their work performancemore specifically on the calltaker’s (emergency dispatcher (ED)) performance and consequently on the whole Emergency Medical Service (EMS).
The objectives of this study were to describe the barriers to achieving. ACE and to identify characteristics that indicate success with respect to achieving and maintaining ACE status.
Anecdotally, numerous MPDS® (Priority Dispatch Corp., Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)-user agencies in the USA, Canada, UK, and Brazil have reported that the emergency caller has difficulty understanding the key question (KQ) “Is s/he completely alert?”
Situational awareness (SA, also called situation awareness) is the ability to take in relevant information about an event in order to understand it and take effective action. Maintaining effective SA as an emergency medical dispatcher (EMD) may be more difficult than in other, similarly complex roles because of the remote nature of an emergency call for help.
Sick Person (Specific Diagnosis) is one of the most commonly used Chief Complaint Protocols in the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS). This protocol is often used when a caller does not report any specific or high-priority symptoms. Of particular concern is the 26-ALPHA-1 determinant code, which refers to a person with “No priority symptoms” and none of the specific symptoms listed on the ALPHA-code drop-down list (Fig. 1).
Despite long-standing calls for consistent training practices, very little is known about the methods used in emergency dispatcher training, their relative efficacy, or the topics or competencies addressed.
Cardiovascular disease remains the most common cause of death worldwide, with ischemic heart disease (IHD) causing nearly nine million deaths per year. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is estimated to cause about one-third of all deaths in people over 35 years old, and the incidence of CHD is expected to continue to rise. Acute myocardial infarctions (AMIs)—heart attacks—represent a significant portion of this overall CHD mortality, with approximately 620,000 Americans suffering a first heart attack, and 295,000 suffering a repeat event, each year.
