Abstract
Background
In emergency medicine, the benefits of high-fidelity simulation (SIM) are widely accepted and standardized patients (SP) are known to mimic real patients accurately. However, only limited data are available concerning physicians’ stress markers within these training environments.
The aim of this pilot study was to investigate repetitive stress among healthcare professionals in simulated pre-hospital emergency scenarios using either SIM or SPs.
Methods
Teams with one emergency medical services (EMS) physician and two paramedics completed three SIM scenarios and two SP scenarios consecutively. To evaluate stress, salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were measured in saliva samples taken before, during and after the scenarios.
Results
A total of 14 EMS physicians (29% female; mean age: 36.8 ± 5.0 years; mean duration of EMS-experience: 9.1 ± 5.8 years) and 27 paramedics (11% female; age: 30.9 ± 6.9 years; EMS experience: 8.1 ± 6.0 years) completed the study. Alpha-amylase and cortisol levels did not differ significantly between the two professions. Cortisol values showed a gradual and statistically significant reduction over time but little change was observed in response to each scenario. In contrast, alpha-amylase activity increased significantly in response to every SIM and SP scenario, but there was no clear trend towards an overall increase or decrease over time.
Conclusion
Increases in salivary alpha-amylase activity suggest that both SIM and SP training produce stress among emergency healthcare professionals. Corresponding increases in salivary cortisol levels were not observed. Among physicians in the emergency setting, it appears that alpha-amylase provides a more sensitive measure of stress levels than cortisol.
You have requested "on-the-fly" machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Show full disclaimer
Neither ProQuest nor its licensors make any representations or warranties with respect to the translations. The translations are automatically generated "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" and are not retained in our systems. PROQUEST AND ITS LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES FOR AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Your use of the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in your Electronic Products License Agreement and by using the translation functionality you agree to forgo any and all claims against ProQuest or its licensors for your use of the translation functionality and any output derived there from. Hide full disclaimer
Details
1 RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Department of Anesthesiology, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.412301.5) (ISNI:0000000086531507); RWTH Aachen University Hospital, AIXSIM - Simulation Centre for Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.412301.5) (ISNI:0000000086531507)
2 RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Department of Anesthesiology, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.412301.5) (ISNI:0000000086531507)
3 Centre for Learning and Knowledge Management and Information Management in Mechanical Engineering RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.1957.a) (ISNI:000000010728696X)
4 RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Department of Medical Statistics, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.412301.5) (ISNI:0000000086531507)
5 University Hospital Dresden, Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Dresden, Germany (GRID:grid.412282.f)
6 University of Technology, Institute of Psychology I, Dresden, Germany (GRID:grid.4488.0) (ISNI:0000000121117257)
7 RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Department of Anesthesiology, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.412301.5) (ISNI:0000000086531507); RWTH Aachen University Hospital, AIXTRA - Interdisciplinary Centre for Medical Education, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.412301.5) (ISNI:0000000086531507)