Informal conversations : Partners of first responders (overview)

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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 average time in the role is 7 years approximately with many leaving early and the high cost of training this has. 

First responder suicide that consistently occurs and can occur actually within the workplace environment. 

Early career first responders are mentored for a year during placement and on first entering the workforce. After that time, support comes from their co-workers. 

The conversation continued, raising further questions that could lead to possible solutions.. 

Could we offer and impose downtime after a serious event? Would this help? 

Could an age admission be imposed to undergraduate training courses in which students must be 25 or over? 

Could trauma support be offered to service workers who are first responders similarly to those working in mental health? 

Is immersive trauma training offered at undergraduate level to help prepare for (and build resilience to) traumatic on the job events, before commencing the role?  

Interestingly, the point was raised about 'completing the loop' in that first responders encounter highly traumatic scenes and play their part but rarely hear about the positive results of the work they do. 

First responders rarely get acknowledged after the event because their part is in the encounter with the patient (of patients family) is at a highly charged time, and they rarely get to meet their patients after the event to witness them well/fixed.. and go on to live full, happy lives.

Closing the loop could go some way to them knowing that they do very much make a difference to the lives of real people (so they are not just thought about as things/jobs - even though responders can find this seperation may be a way of coping with the demands of the job)

The conversation allowed a deeper view of a key (and emotive) question... Who cares for the carers? 

It was felt that further conversations like this, with partners of first responders would help to inform the design of immersive trauma training applications. It could help inform the technical interaction design as well as the structure of the content and learning objectives etc. 

Next, it will be useful to consider 'duty of care', and safe learning environments by talking about policies in general and then going on to think about 'safety'...

Can immersive trauma training feel safe for the novice? 

Can we protect against vicarious trauma?

Can early career first responders acquire  emotional/psychological resilience?

We will also think about gender differences in general (not just in relation to first responders) and consider physical/psychological and emotional risks that women in particular think about when protecting their own safety i.e. 'The safety load". 

These will be posted shortly... 

The purpose of journaling and reflecting on these conversations is about better understanding the real issues. It will aid in the writing of formal questions, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews which will be required in the early stages of the research project. 

But for now, this is about underpinning a solid research proposal that will stand interrogation.

A proposal, that has at its heart, safeguarding all immersive VR users and learners, providing 'physical', emotional and psychological safe spaces in which to safely learn and grow... 

And so that, ultimately, VR may be extended to safely deliver high emotion scenarios, such as in  trauma training. 

I had some initial solutions about how to implement safeguarding in the VR development process while completing my MA in Application developement and interaction design. Shepherds Shield is designed to advance that investigation.


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