A question posted recently on Quora asked, “What are the best coping strategies for stressful jobs?” Clare Tomlinson, a paramedic, gave her opinion on the topic below. Check it out and add your own thoughts in the comments.
For the last eight years, I have been working for the Ambulance Service in England. During this time, I have come to realize that to be able to do this job and do it well, we need a wide range strategies to cope with the massive range of traumatic events and jobs that we go to.
The traumatic and stressful jobs that we attend and deal with range from cardiac arrests, road collisions, sick children and aggressive drunks! Each job affects each individual in different ways — which means we have to recognize when we need support and deal with it appropriately.
EMTs and medics learn very quickly we have to be able to disassociate ourselves emotionally to be able to deal with the job effectively — all while still illustrating our empathy toward patients and families. However, after our job is done, we have to recognize our emotions and deal with them in order to justify our actions and move onto the next job.
We have counseling at work if required, but more often than not we choose to be our own counsel. We support each other, we laugh about certain things and we cry together if we need to. But mostly, we just chat and support each other with hugs when required. Your crew mates become family members and you have to trust them with your life.
I am lucky enough to have a partner, family and friends who all work in healthcare. They understand that when I have had a bad day, I may just need some quiet time to reflect — or may need a cuddle and someone to talk to.
Everyone deals with the job stresses in different ways — ranging from extreme sports to arts and crafts.
Even though my job can be extremely stressful, and I do always remember the stressful times, I love my job. Helping people and saving lives massively outweighs the stress.
