UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE Safety in Emergency Medical

UNIT VII STUDY GUIDESafety in Emergency MedicalServices OrganizationsLearning ObjectivesReadingAssignmentChapter 4:Injury Prevention andEMSChapter 6:Risk Management andSafetyUpon completion of this unit, students should be able to:1.2.3.4.5.Discuss EMS injury prevention programs.Identify injury prevention interventions and available resources.Compile methods for implementing injury prevention programs.Interpret the principles of risk management.Discuss the risk management and safety program building and reportingrequirements.6. Explain the relationship between safety education and risk management.Written LectureSupplementalReadingSee information below.Learning Activities(Non-Graded)See information below.Key Terms1. Attributable risk2. Behavior-modificationapproach3. Educationalinterventions4. Emotional intelligence(EI)5. Enforcement attempts6. Environmentalinterventions7. Epidemiology8. Failure mode andeffect analysis (FMEA)9. Haddon Matrix10. Near miss11. Recognition-primeddecision making(RPDM)12. Risk managementUnit VII combines two essential elements of any successful organization,including emergency medical service organizations: injury prevention with riskmanagement and safety. While EMS organizations are an integral part in thedelivery of healthcare in the United States, ensuring the safety of its ownworkforce cannot be overlooked and must also be a top priority. The delivery ofpre-hospital care is dangerous. EMS providers face injuries from work relatedtasks; exposure to potentially infectious materials; unsafe and unsecureenvironments; hostile patients, families, and bystanders; and vehicle crashes, toname but a few. Adding to an already dangerous profession, special operationspositions and environments, as will be discussed in Unit VIII, can exponentiallyadd to the risk factors associated with EMS operations. Programs designed toprevent worker injuries must be created in such a way as to comply with federal,state, tribal, and local laws and numerous regulations, all while maximizing thesafety of its workforce and reducing the impacts to operations and delivery ofcare. This is an important role and consideration for every EMS manager.Additionally, through the integration of human resources and hiring bestpractices (as discussed in Unit II), workforce education programs (as discussedin Unit V), and information gleaned from EMS quality management, datacollection, and EMS based research (as discussed in Unit VI), highly effectiveand proactive programs can be developed to address all aspects of injuryprevention, risk management, and safety.In addition to identifying and managing risks within their own workforce, EMSorganizations can be powerful agents of change within the communities that theyserve. By becoming actively involved in community-wide safety and injuryprevention programs and campaigns, EMS organizations can not only educatethe community in methods that reduce or limit injury until EMS services canarrive, they can also maximize their presence and positive image within theirservice areas. (Think of the potential benefits to customer service and marketingefforts as discussed in Unit III.)As noted in the Supplemental Reading assignment, “An Introduction to RiskManagement for EMS,” “While many systems do not have the resources for afull-time risk manager, this should not limit the implementation of risk reductionEMS 3301, Emergency Medical Services Management113. Sentinel event14. Situational awareness15. Social-influenceapproachtechniques. Risk management principles can and should be practiced by everymember of the organization” (Dworsky, 2009, para. 8). Indeed, every member ofthe organization plays a critical role in terms of safety, injury prevention, and riskmanagement. Furthermore, the importance of management and leadership indesigning, implementing, monitoring, and modeling appropriate behaviors andprocedures with regards to compliance with safety, injury prevention, and riskmanagement programs simply cannot be overstated.Click here for sample job descriptions of special operations positions within EMSorganizations.ReferenceDworsky, P. (2009, December 31). An introduction to risk management for EMS.Retrieved from http://www.emsworld.com/article/10319902/anintroduction-to-risk-management-for-ems?page=2Supplemental ReadingClick here to access a PDF of the Chapter 4 Presentation.Click here to access a PDF of the Chapter 6 Presentation.Locate and read the following articles located at http://www.emsworld.com:Dworsky, P. L. (2009, December 31). An introduction to risk management forEMS. Retrieved from http://www.emsworld.comFass, B. (2009, November 18). EMS injury prevention. Retrieved fromhttp://www.emsworld.comNordberg, M. (2009, November 18). Infection protection. Retrieved fromhttp://www.emsworld.comPRNewswire. (2012, July 7). King County EMS and Evergreen Health join forcesto reduce falls in the home. Retrieved from http://www.emsworld.comSnyder, M. (2012, April 27). Fire department program helps prevent illness andinjury. Retrieved from http://www.emsworld.comLearning Activities (Non-Graded)Reflection PaperFor this activity, you are asked to reflect on the concepts covered in the ReadingAssignment and the Written Lecture and write about them. What did youunderstand completely? What did not quite make sense? The purpose of thisactivity is to provide you with the opportunity to reflect on the material youfinished reading and to expand upon those thoughts. If you are unclear about aconcept, this will give you a chance to write those questions down and emailthem to your professor for feedback. Can you apply the concepts you learned inthis unit toward your career? How?EMS 3301, Emergency Medical Services Management2This is not a summary but is instead a chance for you to express your thoughtsabout the material learned in this unit by writing about it.The Reflection Paper should meet the following requirements:Be at least one pageContain your thoughts about the material and its value to you personallyContain any questions you may have concerning the materialFormat your writing using APA style. Because this is not a graded assignment, itdoes not need to be submitted. This activity was designed to allow you anopportunity to put your thoughts down on paper so you can determine whatconcepts still may be foreign to you and give you a chance to ask your professorany questions you may have.EMS 3301, Emergency Medical Services Management3