Breathe Evaluation
Breathe Response
The book Breathe is a compilation of stories written from the point of view of a paramedic. Marianne Paiva is the author and narrator of these stories which she experienced between 1993 and 1997 while working on an ambulance in northern California. In this essay I will identify examples of specific stressors that the paramedic experienced as well as some of the coping mechanism that were used to deal with those stressors.
In the chapter titled The Day After Valentine’s Day, Paiva responded to a call where a man had attempted to commit suicide. Not only did she have the stressor of a man literally dying in front of her, she also had the additional stressor of trying to preserve a potential crime scene for the investigation that was to follow. Paiva responded by preventing any unnecessary responders from entering the scene and by focusing on talking to the man calmly and by being focused on doing what she could to prepare the man for transport and further treatment.
In the chapter titled Jacob, Paiva responded to a call where a boy had been hit by a vehicle and severely injured. One of the civilians who was helping with the medical response had been in a class taught by Paiva the year prior. Despite having previous experience with the paramedic and knowing her qualifications, the civilian still hesitated to follow their instructions because it conflicted with what she had been told previously. Paiva responded very well to this stressor by explaining very logically what steps needed to be taken in order to give the boy the treatment that he needed. On top of this, paramedics were also responding to the call next to the highway which was much noisier and busier than the majority of the calls that they respond to. The extra noise was just another distraction that was added while paramedics attempted to focus and execute their job.
In the chapter Disneyland, paramedics responded to a call where two young girls had been in a vehicle
The book Breathe is a compilation of stories written from the point of view of a paramedic. Marianne Paiva is the author and narrator of these stories which she experienced between 1993 and 1997 while working on an ambulance in northern California. In this essay I will identify examples of specific stressors that the paramedic experienced as well as some of the coping mechanism that were used to deal with those stressors.
In the chapter titled The Day After Valentine’s Day, Paiva responded to a call where a man had attempted to commit suicide. Not only did she have the stressor of a man literally dying in front of her, she also had the additional stressor of trying to preserve a potential crime scene for the investigation that was to follow. Paiva responded by preventing any unnecessary responders from entering the scene and by focusing on talking to the man calmly and by being focused on doing what she could to prepare the man for transport and further treatment.
In the chapter titled Jacob, Paiva responded to a call where a boy had been hit by a vehicle and severely injured. One of the civilians who was helping with the medical response had been in a class taught by Paiva the year prior. Despite having previous experience with the paramedic and knowing her qualifications, the civilian still hesitated to follow their instructions because it conflicted with what she had been told previously. Paiva responded very well to this stressor by explaining very logically what steps needed to be taken in order to give the boy the treatment that he needed. On top of this, paramedics were also responding to the call next to the highway which was much noisier and busier than the majority of the calls that they respond to. The extra noise was just another distraction that was added while paramedics attempted to focus and execute their job.
In the chapter Disneyland, paramedics responded to a call where two young girls had been in a vehicle