Fatigue is a common phenomenon among EMS physicians. Unfortunately, the healthcare administrators are not addressing the matter of fatigue among the EMS workers as a result of their low understanding of the dynamics of fatigues and its consequences among these workers ( Myers et al., 2018). Fatigue causes a range of issues from substandard work to accidents that occur when the drivers fall asleep while driving ambulances. In this article, the term fatigue is defined as "a subjective, unpleasant symptom, which incorporates total body feelings ranging from tiredness to exhaustion creating an unrelenting overall condition which interferes with an individual's ability to function to their normal capacity" (2018). The primary discussion in this article aims at disclosing evidenced-based facts on the causatives factors of fatigue and recommendation on the strategies to combat fatigue among the EMS workers.
In this article, there is an apparent need to incorporate fatigue controlling strategies to save numerous cases of accidents where fatigue is involved. Fatigue among the EMS workers stems from different factors. For instance, sleep deprivation which is a tradition among EMS workers is a cause of fatigue. Also, fatigue is prevalent among EMS workers who work for long hours. Other than these, the workload is a factor that causes fatigue. In this case, workload does not mean handling many patients alone but also implies handling many urgent tasks, multitasking, and bulky work. Lastly, the EMS workers sometimes face different varieties of jobs that must be conducted at the same time. This brings about repetition and bulky work. Also, there are EMS workers who prefer venturing in other areas as part-time jobs to get more salaries. These group of workers also faces fatigue issues as a result of multitasking. The primary aim of the recommendations is to correct these causative factors to create an environment free from Fatigue. The experts recommend taking a nap while on the shift to reduce the degree of exhaustion. They further recommend taking caffeine as a stimulant that reduces fatigue. They also recommend short cycles of shifts as well as fatigue sleepiness instrument to gauge fatigue. The last recommendation is training and education as a way of creating awareness of fatigue and its challenges as well as management among the EMS workers.
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Fatigue is the subject of choice because it is not well understood and addressed in EMS facilities. Fatigue is a serious matter, and this makes it the central point of this discussion. Fatigue, as asserted in this document, reduced the pace of work ( Pek, 2017). In the interview documented in this article, an EMS nurse identified as Nancy claim that when she starts slowing down on her work, she needs to sleep. It is an implication that when fatigue comes in, the work rate reduces and thus reducing production among the workers. Other than the work rate, fatigue also brings about stress, and this torments the workers’ life. Nancy further states that she realizes she is tired when she starts having low control over her temper. The frustration that comes with fatigue is non-appealing in an EMS facility. As a result, there are numerous consequences such as accidents, low production, and death (Schimelpfenig et al., 2017) . Unfortunately, the administrators are not competent to handle this matter. Most of the EMS facilities have zero evidenced-based strategies of managing fatigue. It is an implication that more injuries and death due to fatigue may be registered. As a result, there is an urgent need to have evidence-based strategies that EMS facilities’ administrators can put in place to have the situation under control.
The most exciting part of this article that seems to pressures a faster reaction by having strategies put in place to have the fatigue situation under control are the statistics presented in this document to assert the consequences of fatigue. The statistics show that a good number of EMS drivers cause accidents due to fatigue that manifests in terms of sleeping. Within a short period as indicated in this article, different accidents have occurred, which have cost patients their lives in the process. The exciting part of this issues is that not many people do not recognize that fatigue is the real cause of all these accidents. On the other hand, it is interesting to note that EMS facilities’ administrators are still blind to see the extent to which fatigue is claiming lives of patients and instead of coming up with evidence-based solutions, they are still maintaining the status quo.
The unique and surprising fact, in this case, is the recommendation part on how the EMS facility managers can cooperate with the EMS workers to control fatigue in the hospital environment. Specifically, the recommendation that put priority to caffeine beverages is fascinating. In most of these facilities, people go for colored drinks such as orange juice, mango juice, and others. Rarely do people visit refrigerators that have caffeine beverages ( Patterson, D. 2018) . Changing this culture will need a transformational manager or maybe the willingness from the EMS staffs to use it to control fatigue.
In an art shell, the article chosen for this discussion majors on evidence-based factors that perpetuate fatigue and the recommendations that can help reduce its rate among the EMS physicians. The author has extensively exhausted, with pieces of evidence, factors which put EMS staffs at risk of being fatigue, and how they can come together with the EMS Facilities’ Administrators to control the situation.
References
Myers, J. B., Wages, R. K., Rowe, D., Nollette, C., Touchstone, M., Sinclair, J., ... & Barger, L. K. (2018). What an Evidence-based Guideline for Fatigue Risk Management Means for Us: Statements From Stakeholders. Prehospital Emergency Care , 22 (sup1), 113-118.
Patterson, D. (2018). Evidence-based guidelines for combating fatigue in EMS. Journal of Emergency Medical Services, 62 (2)13-28 . Retrieved from: https://www.jems.com/articles/print/volume-43/issue-2/features/evidence-based-guidelines-for-combatting-fatigue-in-ems.html
Pek, J. H. (2017). Guidelines for Bystander First Aid 2016. Singapore medical journal , 58 (7), 411.
Schimelpfenig, T., Johnson, D. E., Lipman, G. S., McEvoy, D. H., & Bennett, B. L. (2017). Evidence-Based Review of Wilderness First Aid Practices. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership , 9 (2), 217-239.
