Human 9

In the last post, an informal discussion led to an overview of first responders work, how personal lives are impacted and some potential solutions were considered. In this post we will go on to consider 'duty of care', and what it means to provide a safe learning environment. Policies will be generalized in regards to institutions, and thought about in terms of first responders from different services.  Safe learning environments will similarly be viewed without mention of specific healthcare organisations but expanded on to examine andragogy (teaching and training of adults), to think about what adults need to feel safe in a learning environment.  We will then go on to examine what we mean by safety, broadening the discourse, thinking about gendered attitudes to safety and what this looks like in real terms (This may form its own post it could be quite broad and extensive).  In the last post we raised some intial questions... Can immersive trauma training feel safe for t...

I met with a partner of a first responder, who had been in the service for over 20 years.  I explained a little about my research and initial experience in encountering some of the issues related to first responders.  I asked questions about how their partners job affected their personal relationship, their home life, their mental health and what some of the solutions might be in easing their exposure to vicarious trauma (VT) also known as secondary trauma.  Their response somewhat aligned with what was already considered such as: 'Empathy burn out' (in which there is a 'splitting' of empathy response) Shift patterns being out of synch with school runs and holidays Mental strain and the real risk of PTSD Limited debriefing support due to the workplace culture or lack of provision Seeing service workers as a 'resource' without consideration of 'human factors' - on the job real life trauma exposure being minimized in preference of service demands The avera...