The Well Being of the EMT

Question 1

Mode of Transmission of HIV - AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)

Answer 1

HIV-infected blood via intravenous drug use, unprotected sexual contact, blood transfusions, or (rarely) accidental needlesticks. Mothers also may pass HIV to their unborn children.

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)is a set of conditions that results when the
immune system has been attacked by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and rendered unable to combat certain infections adequately. Although advances are being made in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, no cure has been discovered at the time of publication of this text. However, HIV/AIDS presents far less risk to health care workers than
hepatitis and TB, because the virus does not survive well outside the human body. This
limits the routes of exposure to direct contact with blood by way of open wounds, intravenous drug use, unprotected sexual contact, or blood transfusions. Puncture wounds into which HIV is introduced, such as with an accidental needlestick, are also potential routes of infection. However, less than half of 1 percent of such incidents result in infection, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA),
compared to 30 percent for the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The difference is due to the quantity and strength of HBV compared to HIV.

Question 2

Mode of Transmission for Chicken Pox (varicella)

Answer 2

Airborne droplets. Can also be spread by contact with open sores.

Question 3

Mode of Transmission for German Measles (rubella)

Answer 3

Airborne droplets. Mothers may pass the disease to unborn children.

Question 4

Mode of Transmission for H1N1

Answer 4

Respiratory Droplet

Question 5

Mode of Transmission for Hepatitis

Answer 5

Blood, stool, or other body fluids, or contaminated objects.

Hepatitis A is acquired primarily through
contact with food or water contaminated by stool (feces). The other forms are acquired through contact with blood and other body fluids. The virus that causes hepatitis is especially hardy. Hepatitis B has been found to live for many days in dried
blood spills, posing a risk of transmission long after many other viruses would have died. For this reason, it is critical for you to assume that any body fluid in any form, dried or otherwise, is infectious until proven otherwise. Hepatitis B can be deadly. Before hepatitis B vaccine was available, the virus (HBV) killed hundreds of health care workers every year in the United States, more than any other occupationally acquired infectious disease. There is no cure, but an effective vaccine that prevents contracting HBV is available. Today, hepatitis C infects many EMS providers in the same way as hepatitis B, yet there is no vaccine against
hepatitis C.

Question 6

Mode of Transmission for Meningitis

Answer 6

Oral and nasal secretions.

Question 7

Mode of Transmission for Mumps

Answer 7

Droplets of saliva or objects contaminated by saliva.

Question 8

Mode of Transmission for Pneumonia, bacterial and viral

Answer 8

Oral and nasal droplets and secretions.

Question 9

Mode of Transmission Staphylococcal skin infections

Answer 9

Direct contact with infected wounds or sores or with contaminated objects.

Question 10

Mode of Transmission Tuberculosis

Answer 10

Respiratory secretions, airborne or on contaminated objects.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection that sometimes settles in the lungs and that in some cases can be fatal. It was once thought to be largely eradicated, but in the late 1980s it made a comeback.TB is highly contagious. Unlike many other infectious diseases, it can spread through the air. Health care workers and others can become infected even without any direct contact with a carrier. Because it is impossible for the EMT to determine why a patient has a productive cough, it is safest to assume that it could be the result of TB and that you should take the necessary respiratory precautions.This is especially true in institutions such as nursing homes, correctional facilities, or homeless shelters where there is an increased risk of TB.

Question 11

Whooping cough (pertussis)

Answer 11

Respiratory secretions or airborne droplets.

Question 12

contamination

Answer 12

the introduction of dangerous chemicals, disease, or infectious materials.

Question 13

critical incident stress management (CISM)

Answer 13

a comprehensive system that includes education and resources to both prevent stress and to deal with stress appropriately when it occurs.

Question 14

decontamination

Answer 14

the removal or cleansing of dangerous chemicals and other dangerous or infectious materials.
hazardous material incident the release of a harmful substance into the environment.

Question 15

multiple-casualty incident (MCI)

Answer 15

an emergency involving multiple patients.

pathogensthe organisms that cause infection, such as viruses and bacteria.

Question 16

personal protective equipment (PPE)

Answer 16

equipment that protects the EMS worker from infection and/or exposure to the dangers of rescue operations.

Question 17

Standard Precautions

Answer 17

a strict form of infection control that is based on the assumption that all blood and other body fluids are infectious.

Question 18

stress

Answer 18

a state of physical and/or psychological arousal to a stimulus.

Question 19

Provide examples of PPE

Answer 19

Examples of personal protective equipment include: protective gloves—used with controlled bleeding, suctioning, artificial ventilation, CPR; eye protection—used with splashing, spattering, or spraying body fluids; masks—used with infections spread by airborne droplets (measles); and gowns—used with arterial bleeding, childbirth.

Question 20

What happens when the body is under stress

Answer 20

The body’s response to stress is to activate the sympathetic nervous system. This causes
an increased heart rate, increased respiratory rate and dilated bronchial passages, and an increased blood pressure. All of this is part of the body’s compensatory mechanism to handle the stress.

Question 21

What are the proper body mechanics for lifting

Answer 21

• Position your feet properly, shoulder-width apart.
• When lifting, use your legs, not your back, to do the lifting.
• When lifting, never twist or attempt to make any moves other than the lift.
• When lifting with one hand, do not compensate.
• Keep the weight as close to your body as possible.
• When carrying a patient on stairs, use a stair chair instead of a stretcher when possible.

Question 22

What are the stages of grief

Answer 22

The stages of grief are:
denial—the patient denies the fact that he is dying;

anger—the patient becomes angry;

bargaining—the patient tries to postpone death, even if only briefly;

depression—the patient is sad or in despair over things left undone; and

acceptance—the patient is ready to die.

Understanding what the families and the patients go through can help an EMT deal with the stress they feel as well as his own emotions.

Question 23

When is a CISD debrief held

Answer 23

24 to 72 hours - follow up within 24 hours