Paramedic student exposure to workplace violence during clinical placements – A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Paramedic students are hesitant to formally report exposure to acts of workplace violence as they feel it may jeopardise their chance of getting a job. The objective of this study was to identify the type and number of workplace violence acts experienced by undergraduate paramedic students whilst on an ambulance clinical placement. This was a cross-sectional study using the Paramedic Workplace Violence Exposure Questionnaire to obtain student exposure to acts of workplace violence which occurred whilst on ambulance clinical placements. The survey response rate was 29.8%. The students' average age was 24.1 years, median age of 23 years, range 18-47 years. There were 32.6% of students who were exposed to at least one act of workplace violence with 56% of these being females. Verbal abuse 18%, and intimidation 17% were the common acts of workplace violence students were exposed to. One female, a nursing/paramedic student, was exposed to sexual harassment on more than one occasion. The findings from this study suggest that paramedic students are exposed to similar rates of workplace violence as full time practising paramedics. Further research is required into workplace violence against students from all professions and what detrimental effect this may have on them.

Extent and risk factors of psychological violence towards physicians and Standardised Residency Training physicians: a Northern China experience

“…The prevalence of psychological violence for SRTPs in China may actually be lower compared to training physicians in to patients is usually lower than that of physicians, the longer the exposure time, the more likely psychological violence [39]. Further, because of facing violence by patients and their relatives, SRTPs are usually protected by physicians [40]. SRTPs and physicians encounter different perpetrators.…”

Students’ views on the need for hostile environment awareness training for South African emergency medical care students

“…This rate is more than three times higher than that cited in an Australian study, which found that 21.2% of their participants had been verbally assaulted during their clinical practice shifts. [4] In the Australian study, with 133 respondents (paramedic students), only 1% had experienced assault during prehospital clinical practice shifts. This percentage is much lower than that in our study, where 32% of participants indicated that they had personal experience of assault.…”

“…Exposure of paramedics to physical violence globally appears to vary considerably -from 2.9% to 79.5%. [3][4][5][6]9,14] Our literature review found few published studies that specifically dealt with the incidence of violence against EMS students. Of our 113 respondents, 78.76% reported being verbally abused (sworn at, ridiculed or threatened) either by a patient or bystander.…”

“…Unsurprisingly, considering this, and as 83% had personally witnessed violence against EMS personnel, nearly all of our participants (92.04%) indicated that they felt unsafe during their clinical practice prehospital shifts. [4] A possible reason put forward in the Australian study for the low incidence of assault against their paramedic students was that their participants were not required to work at night, when it is thought that the majority of violence against EMS personnel takes place. In our study, 84.96% of participants considered themselves to be at higher risk of violence owing to the hours that they work.…”

What an Evidence-based Guideline for Fatigue Risk Management Means for Us: Statements From Stakeholders

“…They may work long hours, in harsh environments, with limited information, assistance, supervision and resources to accomplish their mission. In the course of their work, they may be exposed to risks such as infectious disease, emotional stress, fatigue, physical violence, occupational injury, vehicle crashes, and personal liability (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18).…”