Psychological Skills to Improve Emergency Care Providers’ Performance Under Stress

Stress experienced by emergency medical providers during the resuscitation of critically ill or injured patients can cause cognitive and technical performance to deteriorate. Psychological skills training offers a reasonable and easily implemented solution to this problem. In this article, a specifi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnals of emergency medicine Vol. 70; no. 6; pp. 884 - 890
Main Authors Lauria, Michael J., BA, NRP, FP-C, Gallo, Isabelle A, Rush, Stephen, Lt Col, Brooks, Jason, PhD, MSc, Spiegel, Rory, MD, Weingart, Scott D., MD
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.12.2017
Subjects
Clinical Competence
Emergency
Emergency Medical Services
Humans
Occupational Stress - prevention & control
Resuscitation - psychology
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Summary:Stress experienced by emergency medical providers during the resuscitation of critically ill or injured patients can cause cognitive and technical performance to deteriorate. Psychological skills training offers a reasonable and easily implemented solution to this problem. In this article, a specific set of 4 performance-enhancing psychological skills is introduced: breathe, talk, see, and focus. These skills comprise breathing techniques, positive self-talk, visualization or mental practice, and implementing a focus “trigger word.” The evidence supporting these concepts in various domains is reviewed and specific methods for adapting them to the environment of resuscitation and emergency medicine are provided.
ISSN:0196-0644
1097-6760
DOI:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2017.03.018