Title: Stress and the Emergency Responder
Course: CPR for Professionals > Section: HPR102-CPR for Professionals

Stress and the Emergency Responder

As an the first person responding to a medical emergency, you should understand the role that stress plays in the lives of emergency care providers and patients who have experienced a sudden illness or accident. Stress is a normal part of responding to an emergency, but if not handled correctly can create significant issues.

There are times when you may be dealing with the death of someone you have preformed CPR on or serious diagnosis of a friend or family member.  Understanding the emotions a person goes through will help you be a better emergency responder.  The five stages of the grief process when dealing with death and dying are:

- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance

Patients and rescuers move through these stages at different rates.

Stress management consists of recognizing, preventing, and reducing critical incident stress.

Scene safety is an important part of the anyone who is responding to an emergency situation. You should understand how airborne and bloodborne diseases are spread and how standard precautions prevent the spread of infection.

As you arrive on the scene of an unconscious person, an accident or illness, you must assess the scene for a wide variety of hazards, including traffic, crime, crowds, unstable objects, sharp objects, electrical problems, fire, hazardous materials, animals, environmental conditions, special rescue situations, and infectious disease exposure. You should understand the safety equipment and precautions that are needed for the various types of rescue situations.