All questions as a paramedic in Australia
1. Outline the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 to protect employees from situations that can cause stress and mental health problems, or impact existing mental health problems.
2. As an employee, what rights do you have if you are experiencing stress or other types of psychosocial hazards and your employer is not supporting you?
3. List the main sources of support and counselling that health care workers can access as part of their job role.
4. Sometimes people may prefer to privately seek support. List three (3) sources of support that health care workers can access external to the workplace (that is, available within the community).
5. For each of the self-care techniques listed below, provide three (3) reasons why they can help reduce stress, depression, and anxiety.
Exercise
Diet/nutrition
Maintaining a work-life balance
Complementary/alternative
health options and services
6. Identify three (3) ways in which you can better plan and organise your workload and your personal life to reduce stress.
7. Explain how each of the following can impact your stress levels as a health care worker.
| Non-compliant patients (aggressive/violent, emotionally affected, cognitively impaired, etc) |
Grief and loss
Exposure to traumatic incidents
Working conditions
8.
A. Identify and define 4 (four) sources of stress at work.
B. Explain why it is important to have an understanding and recognise stress in your role as a health care worker.
9. Identify and provide a brief explanation of Albrecht’s four (4) common types of stress and their sources.
10. Discuss the impact that chronic stress has on the body and some self-care techniques people can use to assist in preventing this.
11.Conduct some additional research to identify how a person’s genetics and/or life experiences can impact how they respond to stress. explain in depth each one
a) Genetics
b) Life experiences
12. Discuss why allowing a stressor to manifest can have an adverse impact on an individual and the others surround them.
13. Describe the most common signs and symptoms of stress for the following and provide an example trigger for each. (explain in depth per term)
a) Physiological
b) Psychological
c) Cognitive
d) Social adaption
e) Behavioural
f) Spiritual
14. Explain the importance of understanding your legal rights relating to the Fair Work Act as a health care worker.
15. Explain the potential long-term effects that workplace stress can have on a healthcare professional
16. Identify ten (10) activities/strategies that support reducing the effects of stress in the workplace (Dot points acceptable)
17. Discuss in your own words the following:
a) What is professional burnout? or dot points)
b) What are the causes of professional burnout? /or dot points)
c) What factors make you more at risk of professional burnout? or dot points)
18.Discuss and explain four (4) potential strategies you could implement to address professional burnout as a health care worker.
19. Identify and explain three (3) alternative health options that you might consider yourself or recommend to a colleague to help manage stress and emotional wellbeing.
20. Emergency health care first responders often witness some of the most traumatic and difficult moments in the lives of patients. In your own words, explain Vicarious trauma and its impact.
21. In your own words, explain the term Compassion Fatigue and its impact.
22. You and your colleague recently attended to a patient who unfortunately, despite your best efforts, passed away. You have noticed that you are not handling the situation well. What can you do to best manage your distress?