A study of emotion work in student paramedic practice

Student paramedics are exposed to the harsh reality of paramedic practice early within preregistration education (British Paramedic Association 2006). Active involvement in the emergency assessment, management and treatment of potentially life threatening and traumatic incidents involves exposure to human suffering, pain, trauma and death. Managing their own and others’ emotions would appear to be integral. There is however, a paucity of research evidencing the emotional aspects of paramedic practice and none which specifically captures the student perspective.A qualitative, exploratory design and semi-structured interviews were undertaken with eight second year undergraduate paramedic science students to explore their perceptions and experiences of emotion work and the strategies used to deal with it. Thematic content analysis revealed three main themes, ‘getting on with the job’, ‘struggling with emotion’ and ‘talking it through’. This paper presents the findings on the first two themes.Emergency resuscitation and getting on with the job emerged as a priority in a number of the experiences and subthemes included control and suppression of emotion, ‘got to deal with it’ and ‘don’t see them as a person’. Students struggled to deal with patients’ and relatives’ emotions and their own in some situations and subthemes included ‘not sure of what to say’, ‘stop myself crying’, and ‘personal links’. The findings provide evidence of the emotional demands of student paramedic practice and have important implications for nurse educators who contribute to their education and support. Curriculum content must prepare and support students to perform emotion work effectively.