Empathy in paramedic practice: an overview

Background: Although inconsistently defined, empathy is generally considered to be the understanding of another person\u27s reactions, thoughts, feelings and problems and being able to relay this sense of understanding back to the individual. Empathy in healthcare is associated with improved communication, reduced stress, lower complication rates and improved clinical outcomes. Low empathy is associated with decreased patient satisfaction, and provider burnout. Aim: The aim of this article is to provide an overview of empathy in paramedic practice, and to outline several potential solutions to improve empathy levels among paramedics and paramedic students. Methods: We conducted unstructured, non-systematic searches of the literature in order to inform an overview of the literature. An overview is a summary of the literature that attempts to survey the literature and describe its characteristics. We thematically structured the results of these searches under the following headings: empathy in paramedic practice, empathy and burnout, and strategies to improve empathy levels. Discussion: The literature demonstrates that paramedic students have lower empathy scores towards substance users and mental health emergencies, and this may affect future practice as a paramedic. The burden of emotional work in paramedic practice and coping strategies that paramedics develop may also be contributory factors in this lower empathy. There appears to be a relationship between empathy and burnout, with most studies suggesting an inverse relationship. Empathy is an interpersonal skill that can be learned and improved upon through methods such as reflection and simulation. Conclusion: Empathy in paramedic practice is complex, and understudied. Although some evidence exists to suggest that paramedic students have variable empathy levels towards certain patients, and that these empathy scores can decline over time, there is a distinct lack of research into empathy in practicing paramedics, and this requires further attention. In particular, its relationship to patient care, paramedic burnout, and wellbeing require investigation. Several strategies to teach empathy exist and these can be considered by educators

Empathy levels among Canadian paramedic students: a cross sectional survey.

Empathy is an important factor in communication between healthcare provider and patient. Previous studies have shown that empathy can improve patient care. Empathy improves patient satisfaction and buffers healthcare provider burnout.https://first.fanshawec.ca/cri_ridposters/1005/thumbnail.jp

Empathy levels among Canadian paramedic students

This study aimed to determine the empathy levels displayed by Canadian paramedic students towards patients with various medical conditions

Exploring empathy levels among canadian paramedic students

Introduction: Empathy is an important factor in communication between healthcare provider and patient. Previous studies have shown that empathy benefits patient care in multiple ways. Empathy allows a space of decreased vulnerability as a result, builds trust in healthcare relationships, fosters open communication that leads to improved patient care, improves patient satisfaction and buffers healthcare provider burnout. This study aimed to determine the empathy levels demonstrated by paramedic students to patients with various medical conditions, and to compare these findings to previous studies. Methods: This study employed a cross sectional design of a convenience sample of first and second year paramedic students in a community college program in Ontario, Canada. The Medical Condition Regard Scale( MCRS) was used to measure empathy levels in these students across five medical conditions: physical disability, intellectual disability, suicide attempt, mental health emergency, and substance abuse. Results: A total of 43 students participated in the study; 27 males and 15 females (1 unknown). Males demonstrated a mean empathy score of 232.44 while females demonstrated a mean of 266.4. Across the five medical conditions, substance abuse had the lowest mean empathy score (42.88), followed by mental health emergency (49.58), suicide attempt (49.47), intellectual disability (50.42) and physical disability (53.0). Conclusion: Results from this study suggest that paramedic students demonstrated the lowest levels of empathy towards patients suffering from substance abuse issues, and the highest levels of empathy towards patients with a physical disability. Male paramedic students are less empathetic than their female peers, and second year paramedic students are less empathetic than their first year counterparts. These results provide an insight into paramedic students attitudes in Canada, and provide a foundation for further studies

2018 Research & Innovation Day Program

A one day showcase of applied research, social innovation, scholarship projects and activities.https://first.fanshawec.ca/cri_cripublications/1005/thumbnail.jp

Exploring empathy levels among Canadian paramedic students

Batt, AM ORCiD: 0000-0001-6473-5397Background: Empathy is an important factor in communication between healthcare provider and patient. Previous studies have shown that empathy benefits patient care in multiple ways. Empathy allows a space of decreased vulnerability and, as a result, builds trust in healthcare relationships. It fosters open communication that leads to improved patient care; improves patient satisfaction; and buffers healthcare provider burnout. This study aimed to determine the empathy levels demonstrated by paramedic students to patients with various medical conditions, and to compare these findings with those of previous studies. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design of a convenience sample of first and second year paramedic students in a community college programme in Ontario, Canada. The Medical Condition Regard Scale (MCRS) was used to measure empathy levels in these students across five medical conditions: physical disability, intellectual disability, suicide attempt, mental health emergency, and substance abuse. Results: A total of 43 students participated in the study; 27 males and 15 females (1 unknown). Males demonstrated a mean empathy score of 232.44 while females demonstrated a mean of 266.4. Across the five medical conditions, substance abuse had the lowest mean empathy score (42.88), followed by mental health emergency (49.58), suicide attempt (49.47), intellectual disability (50.42) and physical disability (53.0). Conclusion: Results from this study suggest that paramedic students demonstrated the lowest levels of empathy towards patients suffering from substance abuse issues, and the highest levels of empathy towards patients with a physical disability. Male paramedic students are less empathetic than their female peers, and second year paramedic students are less empathetic than their first year counterparts. These results provide an insight into paramedic student attitudes in Canada, and provide a foundation for further studies

Search for Scalar Diphoton Resonances in the Mass Range 65−60065-600 GeV with the ATLAS Detector in pppp Collision Data at s\sqrt{s} = 8 TeVTeV

A search for scalar particles decaying via narrow resonances into two photons in the mass range 65–600 GeV is performed using $20.3\text{}\text{}{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=8\text{}\text{}\mathrm{TeV}$ $pp$ collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The recently discovered Higgs boson is treated as a background. No significant evidence for an additional signal is observed. The results are presented as limits at the 95% confidence level on the production cross section of a scalar boson times branching ratio into two photons, in a fiducial volume where the reconstruction efficiency is approximately independent of the event topology. The upper limits set extend over a considerably wider mass range than previous searches