Burnout: A state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. As stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place. Compassion Fatigue: A state experience by those helping people in distress; it is an extreme sate of tension and preoccupation with the suffering of those being helped to the degree that it is traumatizing for the helper. Critical Incident Stress: A natural reaction of a normal person to...

Read more

BACKGROUND As a premier body of EMS professionals, The National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) appoints, through its Standards and Practice (S & P) Committee, interested members who are experts, or want to develop expertise in related aspects of EMS. These members are designated to develop position statements on EMS topics of interest to them and of importance to the field. These draft position statements are then critiqued by the members of the S & P Committee, and alterations made in response to concerns and subsequent recommendations of the Committee members. The chair...

Read more