Chapter 2: The Well-Being of the EMT
Topics
● Well-Being
● Personal Protection
● Diseases of Concern
● Emotion and Stress
● Scene Safety
Well-Being
Importance of Well-Being
● Keeping yourself prepared for demands and risks of EMT is very important
● If you are unable to function for any reason, patients may not get needed care
Maintaining Well-Being
● Maintaining solid personal relationships
● Exercise
● Sleep
● Eating right
● Limiting alcohol and caffeine intake
● Seeing your physician regularly and keeping up to date on vaccines
Personal Protection
Standard Precautions
● Pathogens are organisms that cause infection
● Pathogens can be bloodborne or airborne
● Standard Precautions include steps to protect self from pathogens
● Make decisions about which Standard Precautions to use based on seeing the patient
● The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued strict guidelines
about precautions against exposure to bloodborne pathogens.
● Refer to local protocols for wearing personal protective equipment
● Written policies also address what to do in the event of an exposure to infectious
substances
Personal Protective Equipment
● Protective gloves
○ Always have vinyl or other nonlatex gloves readily available.
○ Gloves should be changed between patients.
○ Wear heavyweight and tear resistant gloves when cleaning the ambulance and
soiled equipment
● Hand cleaning
○ Hand washing
■ Vigerously wash hands with soap and water
○ Alcohol-based hand cleaners
■ Considered effective by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
, ■ Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used if soap and water are not
available
● Eye and face protection
○ Eye protection prevents splashing, spattering, or spraying fluids from entering the
body
○ Should provide a guard from the front and the sides
● Masks
○ In cases where there will be blood or fluid splatter, wear a surgical-type mask
○ In cases where tuberculosis is suspected, wear an N-95 or high-efficiency
particulate air (HEPA) respirator approved by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
○ Face shields offer protection of the entire face
● Gowns
○ May also wear gown to protect clothing and bare skin from spilled or splashed
fluids
○ Wear a gown if a patient has an arterial bleed, is in childbirth, or has multiple
injuries
Diseases of Concern
Hepatitis B and C
● Infection that causes inflammation of the liver
● Can live on surfaces in dried blood for several days
● Hepatitis B (HBV) is deadly; killed hundreds of health care workers each year before
vaccine was available
● Hepatitis C (no vaccine yet) poses same risk
Tuberculosis (TB)
● Infects lungs
● Highly contagious
● Airborne
AIDS
● HIV
○ Attacks immune system, leaving patient unable to fight off infection
● AIDS
○ Set of conditions that results when the immune system has been attacked by HIV
● Lower risk for health care workers than hepatitis or TB
● Contact with blood is the usual route of infection
Specific Diseases of Concern
● Ebola
○ People in U.S. infected in 2014
○ Hemorrhagic fever
○ High rate of deaths and lack of definitive treatment
Topics
● Well-Being
● Personal Protection
● Diseases of Concern
● Emotion and Stress
● Scene Safety
Well-Being
Importance of Well-Being
● Keeping yourself prepared for demands and risks of EMT is very important
● If you are unable to function for any reason, patients may not get needed care
Maintaining Well-Being
● Maintaining solid personal relationships
● Exercise
● Sleep
● Eating right
● Limiting alcohol and caffeine intake
● Seeing your physician regularly and keeping up to date on vaccines
Personal Protection
Standard Precautions
● Pathogens are organisms that cause infection
● Pathogens can be bloodborne or airborne
● Standard Precautions include steps to protect self from pathogens
● Make decisions about which Standard Precautions to use based on seeing the patient
● The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued strict guidelines
about precautions against exposure to bloodborne pathogens.
● Refer to local protocols for wearing personal protective equipment
● Written policies also address what to do in the event of an exposure to infectious
substances
Personal Protective Equipment
● Protective gloves
○ Always have vinyl or other nonlatex gloves readily available.
○ Gloves should be changed between patients.
○ Wear heavyweight and tear resistant gloves when cleaning the ambulance and
soiled equipment
● Hand cleaning
○ Hand washing
■ Vigerously wash hands with soap and water
○ Alcohol-based hand cleaners
■ Considered effective by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
, ■ Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used if soap and water are not
available
● Eye and face protection
○ Eye protection prevents splashing, spattering, or spraying fluids from entering the
body
○ Should provide a guard from the front and the sides
● Masks
○ In cases where there will be blood or fluid splatter, wear a surgical-type mask
○ In cases where tuberculosis is suspected, wear an N-95 or high-efficiency
particulate air (HEPA) respirator approved by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
○ Face shields offer protection of the entire face
● Gowns
○ May also wear gown to protect clothing and bare skin from spilled or splashed
fluids
○ Wear a gown if a patient has an arterial bleed, is in childbirth, or has multiple
injuries
Diseases of Concern
Hepatitis B and C
● Infection that causes inflammation of the liver
● Can live on surfaces in dried blood for several days
● Hepatitis B (HBV) is deadly; killed hundreds of health care workers each year before
vaccine was available
● Hepatitis C (no vaccine yet) poses same risk
Tuberculosis (TB)
● Infects lungs
● Highly contagious
● Airborne
AIDS
● HIV
○ Attacks immune system, leaving patient unable to fight off infection
● AIDS
○ Set of conditions that results when the immune system has been attacked by HIV
● Lower risk for health care workers than hepatitis or TB
● Contact with blood is the usual route of infection
Specific Diseases of Concern
● Ebola
○ People in U.S. infected in 2014
○ Hemorrhagic fever
○ High rate of deaths and lack of definitive treatment
