Managing Fatigue in EMS

Fatigue is a fact of life in modern society.  Fatigue in EMS is constant and, sadly, all too accepted by both employers and employees.  I taught a class recently and easily half of the soon-to-be instructors (who had to try and retain a lot of new information) survived the class on an endless stream of coffee and energy drinks. I still wonder how much of the key information was retained. This is a constant theme in all my classes. I still remember being on the other side of the table: in uniform struggling to stay awake. Leading EMS organizations are finally addressing the problems of fatigue and shift work, so change is coming.  In the meantime, we still have to take care of ourselves. We know that chronic fatigue will suppress the immune system, making it easier to get sick, stay sick and suffer from chronic illness.1  Plus, fatigued humans are more likely to over eat when compared to non-fatigued counterparts.2 These mechanisms alone explain why chronically fatigued first responders will miss work due to illness and stress and also have a higher likelihood of obesity and injury. Sleep Hygeine Sleep hygiene is a major component of learning to survive and thrive in EMS.  To keep it simple and actionable, the following six recommendations will set you on the path to rest, rejuvenation, healing and health. 1. Get your blood work done annually.  This is the most important part of the process.  How do we know what we need to treat if we're gues...
Source: JEMS Operations - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Operations Source Type: news