Work in stressful conditions in medical emergency system during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The pandemic caused a change in the way of providing healthcare services, limiting direct access to doctors, suspending planned treatments and medical consultations, but despite the risks and restrictions, the medical rescue system as a key element of health care for the society continues to function. The system provides medical assistance to patients in the most severe condition, both with a negative result for SARS-CoV-2, as well as with a positive or undiagnosed result. It is a review aimed at analyzing the most important psychological aspects of the work of emergency medical care system personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar search were used to analyze the problem. The following keywords were used to search for information sources: paramedic, work, emergency medical care system, emergency department, ambulance service, COVID-19, pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus. The articles were selected in terms of the psychological aspects of the work of the emergency medical care system personnel during the pandemic in 2020–2021. The psychosocial problems that come to the fore during a pandemic include increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, emotional exhaustion, vicarious traumatization, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In the context of the increased risk of psychological problems due to pandemic, it is necessary to provide psychological support to the medical staff, both in terms of psychological support for the entire team and individually. Med Pr. 2022;73(3):241–50

Keywords

• covid-19
• pandemic
• stress
• emergency medical care system
• paramedic
• work conditions