EMPATHY AND BURNOUT SYNDROME IN THE PRACTICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES — PILOT STUDY

  INTRODUCTION: The burnout syndrome is a result of stress on the work situation and most often concerns pro­fessions requiring emotional and direct contact with another human being. The level of empathy is closely related to the phenomenon of occupational burnout. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of socio-demo­graphic factors of emergency services employees on the level of empathy. METHOD: In the period January–March 2018, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire — Emphatic Sensi­tiveness Scale (ESC) and an anonymous author’s questionnaire containing questions regarding sex, age, length of employment, occupation, marital status and number of hours worked per month. The survey was addressed to 81 employees of emergency services: paramedics (n = 17) and firefighters (n = 23). The control group consisted of 16 nurses and 25 people performing non–medical professions. RESULTS: The average number of hours worked per month by the respondents was 189 ± 49. There were 50 fe­males (62%) and 31 males (38%). The questionnaire showed statistically significant differences in perspective taking domain between the control group composed of people working in non-medical professions (25.6 ± 4.3) and emergency services professionals: firefighter (28.7 ± 3.6) vs. paramedic (29.9 ± 3.5) vs. nurse (31.2 ± 3.0), p < 0.001. It has been shown a statistically significant effect of sex on personal distress domain: male (21.4 ± 4.2) vs. female (24.3 ± 4.7), p = 0.005. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our data indicates that: (1) Nurses were characterised by the highest level of empathy amongst the surveyed professional groups; (2) Females were characterised by a higher level of personal distress; (3) Variables such as sex, age, and length of employment did not affect the level of empathy

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FIRE-FIGHTER INTERVENTIONS IN THREE PROVINCES IN POLAND, BASED ON DATA FROM THREE COUNTIES

   INTRODUCTION: The speed of intervention of Fire Brigade units has a direct impact on the chance of saving people’s lives and the effectiveness of rescue and fire-fighting operations. The aim of the research is to in­dicate the concentration of interventions and characteristics of events divided into the following: fire; local hazards; false alarms; time of arrival of the first fire brigade determined by distance; a comparison of the number of fire-fighters divided into groups of the Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) and State Fire Service (SFS); time of intervention; number of victims; and the need to support cooperating services i.e. police, medical rescue teams (MRT) and AMR Air Ambulance. METHODS: The study was carried out on the basis of reports of events registered by the SFS on duty. Data concerned the period January–March 2017. The study included Siemiatycze county in Podlaskie Province, Łosice county in Mazovia Province and Łuków county in Lublin Province. RESULTS: The frequency of events is higher in the countryside than in cities. The number of VFB in individual counties is similar with 119 in Łosice county and 129 in Łuków county with only 79 in Siemiatycze county, while the number of SFS hosts slightly differs in Łuków county (n = 131) from Łosice county (n = 76) and Siemiatycze county (n = 79), where this number is similar. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicates that: (1) SFS and VFB reaction time for interventions in our region does not differ from other data available in the literature; (2) this paper is of interest to workforce planners. We hope it provides important information to fire-fighters that should facilitate the maintenance of a successful and effective service