Dav

aoCent
ral
911Rescuers:Pr
ofessional
Qual
i
tyofLi
fe
andSel
f-
CareTechnique

ABSTRACT

Thisst udyendeav oredt ol ooki ntot heexper iencesoft heEMTsofDav aoCent r

al911i n
ter
msoft hei rPr ofessionalQual it
yofLi fecomposedofCompassi onSat isfact i
on,Bur nout
and Compassi on Fat i
gue.Outof120 EMTs,onl y 86 par ticipated and under wentt he
str
uctur edquest ioningandi nter vi
ew pr ocess.Ther esear cherusedst andar dizedt ests;t he
ProfessionalQual ityofLi f
e( Pr oQOL)t estandt heSel f
-Car eTechni queCheckl ist.Thest udy
uti
li
zedanexpl anat orysequent ialmi xedmet hoddesi gnandpur posi vesampl i
ng.Val i
dat ing
theresul tsf ur t
her ,ast ructuredquest ionnai r
ewasmadeandaf ocusgr oupdi scussi onwas
conduct ed t ov alidatet hebasel i
ner esul t
sofPr oQOL ofhi gh compassi on sat isfaction,
averagebur nout ,andl ow f atigue.Ther esult
sr evealedt hathighcompassi onsat isfactioni s
deri
vedf rom t hepassi on,dedi cat i
on,andser vi
cer ender edt othepeopl etheyhel p;howev er
,
theav eragebur noutwasexper i
encedi nt hewor kpl
ace;wher ein,theirself-wor thasawor ker
was notv alued butshowed r esil
iencywhenev ert heyf eeldistressed because oft heir
workload.Sel f-
Car ePr act i
cewasusef uli nest abli
shingt hequal it
yofl i
feamongEMTs.I n
additi
on,t her espondent spr act i
cepr of essi
onalsel f-careasi def r
om phy sical,emot ional,
psychol ogicalandspi ri
tualsel f-care.Ther espondent sdr ewoutt heirstrengt hsf rom t heirco-
EMTsandhel pedeachot hersur passt hedayandassessedt heper formanceofeachot her
forimpr ovement .Theybui l
tt hemsel v esf rom eachot her’sposi ti
veout l
ooksdespi tet he
l
imitationst heyexper i
enceev er ydayandt heneedf orcomposur easEMTsofCent ral 911.

Keywords:Soci
alSci
ences,Cl
i
nicalPsy
chol
ogy
,Sequent
ialExpl
anat
ory
,Mi
xed Met
hods
Resear
ch
Desi
gn,DavaoCit
y

I
ntr
oduct
ion
Thest udyofSmi t
het .
al.(2019)emphasi zedt hatEmer gencyMedi calTechni ci
an( EMTs)
highl
yneedsel f-
care;speci fi
cal
ly,int hephy si
calaspectwhi chi ncludesexer ci
se,get ti
ng
enoughsl eep,acquiri
nggoodnut ri
ti
on,andst i
ckingt or outinel
yact ivit
ies,and;psy chological
aspectwhi chincludesestabl i
shi
ngqual i
tytimewi thf r
iendsandf ami ly ,parti
cipati
ngi npeer -
suppor tprograms,andcont i
nuousconsul tationwi thment alheal t
hpr of essionals.Thedayt o
daylifeofanEmer gencyMedi calTechni ci
ani sspont aneousandv ar i
ed.Theycommonl yface
diff
erentchal l
engest hattheyur gentl
yr espondt ocaracci dents,chi ldbi rth,tr
aumat icinjur
ies,
and cr i
me scenesamong manyot herci rcumst ances.Al so,t heyneed t o make cer tai
n
operationsqui cklyast heyhandl esev eralcasest hatneedi mmedi at eact i
on.Emer gency
responder s,suchasf i
re-
fighter
s,wor ki naf i
eldt hatr egularlyi nv olv est r
aumat icev ents,
placi
ngt hem atriskofbecomi ngv i
ctimst hemsel ves( Cacciatore,Car lson,Mi chaelis,Lli
mek,
&Steffan2011;Tuckey &Hay ward,2011) .Wi ththis,iti simpor tantt ounder standthef act
ors
thatinfluencet heprofessionalqualit
yofl ifeoft hesehel pingpr ofessi onal s(Thomas,2013) ,
 2

especiall
yt hattheirqual it
yofl if
ei shi ngedont heexper i
encesofcompassi onsat isfact
ion
andcompassi onf at i
gue( Ray,Wong,Whi te&Heasl ip.
,2013;St amm,2010) .Thebestcaset o
highli
ghtt hi
spoi nti st he9/11t er r
orat t
acks.Ar egularwor kercangoonanent i
recar eer
withoutmaki ng a l if
e-or-
death deci sion atwor k;mostEmer gencyMedi calTechni ci
ans
(EMTs) ,ont heot herhand,cannotgooni nasi ngledaywi thoutmaki ngone.EMTsar e
typical
lythefirstresponder sintheev entofmedi calemer gencies,ademandi ngjobt osayt he
l
east .EMTsspendy earsasf i
rstr esponder sbef oremov ingont oadmi ni
str
ati
veposi t
ionsin
theser vi
ce,becomi ngdi r
ectors,super visors,tr
ainer s,ordispatchers;however,f
ort hosewho
grow tir
edoft hedemandi ngwor k,itiscommonf orthem t oleavet heservi
cealtoget herto
reti
reorfindanewcar eerpath(Clawson, 1989).
I
nthePhil
ippines,mostEMTshaveatleastabachel
or’
sdegreei
nnur
sing(Pi
noymedi
c,2017)
.
I
tisimpor t
antt onotethatemergencymedi ci
neisstil
latthei
nfancystageher
ei nthe
Phi
l
ippi
nes,andpr e-
hospi
tal
car
esarey ettobesyst
emized.
Int hest udyofCor puzet .al.( 2019) ,EMTscommonl yexper iencesev er
alissuesduet o
exposur et odi fferentdi sast er
st hataf fectt hem becauset heyar einvolvedemot ional l
y ,and
addr esscer tainpr oblemst heyhav eencount er
edt hroughper sonal copi
ngst rat
egies.Hi ther t
o,
sev eralor ganizat i
onsi nbot hpubl i
candpr ivatesect ors,shoul dcont i
nuet oaddresst hesel f-
carei nterv entionsoft heEMTssuchast r
aumaandot herheal t
hissuest hatwillcont ri
but eto
theov erallwel l-
beingoft heper sonnel .Cur rently,
thePhi lippineshasnoexi sti
ngaccr editati
on
forEMTs, whi chl etst heirEMTsdof urtheraddr essoft heut mostneedsoft heirpersonnel .I
n
Canada, onecanqual ifyasapar amedi caf terpassingt heAdv ancedEmer gencyMedi calCar e
Assi stantcer tif
icateexami nati
onpr ov idedbyt heMi nistryofHeal t
handLong- Ter m Car e
(Pinoy medi c,2017) .Bey ondqual ifi
cations,av erageear ning,andt askdescr i
pti
ons,t hecar eer
ofbecomi ng an EMT al so pr esent s anot herst andardf eature oft he job:stress.Thei r
exper iences of wor king wi t
h cr iti
cal l
y-i
njured individual s often lead t o psy chol ogical
disturbances.Assuch,Lef evr
e( 2017)emphasi zest heur gentneedf orEMSoper ationst o
i
nv est i
gatement alwel l
nessandt hecausesofpsy chol ogicaldistressamongEMTsandot her
fi
rstr esponder s.
ThePr ofessi
onalQuali
tyofLif
eScale(ProQOL)i swhatonef eelsconcer ni
ngt hei
rwor kasa
helper.Boththeposi
ti
veandnegat i
veaspectsofdoi ngone’ sjobinfluenceonespr ofessi
onal
quali
tyofl i
fe(St
amm,2010) .Withalowpr ofessionalquali
tyofl i
fe,nursesandot herheal th
carepr ov
idersmaymani f
estl
ossofself-
wor t
handdi mini
shedpr oductivi
ty,andstafftur
nov er
canbeaf f
ected(Boy
le,2011;Haberetal.
,2013) .Incontrast,ahighqual it
yofl i
feleadst oa
greaternumberofpat i
entssati
sfi
edwiththeircar e(McHugh,Lee,Ci miotti
,Sloane,&Ai ken,
2011) .
Severalcasesshow t hatEmer gencyMedi calTechni ci
ansexper iencesy mpt omsofPost -
Traumat i
cStressDisorder(PTSD) .Thiski ndofdi sordercommonl yshowsy mpt omssuchas
i
ntrusiv
ememor iesaboutt heev ent,flashbacks,ni ghtmar es,phy sicaltensi
onsoragi tation,
emot i
onalnumbness,andt hedesi r
et oav oidtalkingort hinkingaboutt hetraumati
cev ent.
Consequently,EmergencyMedi calTechni cianstendt ohesi tateinseeki nghelpbecauset here
aresocietalexpectat
ionsandi dealizationsofpeopl ei nthispr ofessionasher oeswhoar e
alwaysstrongandt ough,bot hment allyandphy sicall
y.Compassi onf ati
guei scompri
sedof
twopar t
s;secondarytraumat i
cstress( STS)andbur nout.Toget her,compassi onsati
sfact i
on
andt hetwocomponent sofcompassi onf ati
gue,secondar yt r
aumat icst r
essandbur nout
generateaprofessi
onal quali
tyoflif
ef orhel pi
ngpr ofessionals.
Pi
nesandAr
onson(
1988)concept
ual
l
ydef
ined 
bur
nout
 asast
ateofphy
sical
,emot
ionaland
 3

mentalexhaust
ioncausedbyl ong-t
ermi nvol
v ementinemot ional
lydemandingsituati
ons.
St
amm ( 2010)associ
atedbur noutwithfeeli
ngsofhopel essnessanddiffi
cult
iesindealing
wi
thwor korindoingone’sjobef f
ecti
vely.Aframeworkr egar
dingjobburnoutsuggeststhat
pr
olongedexposuretojobstressorsmayr esul
tintheresponsesofexhausti
on,cyni
cism,and
i
neffi
cacy(Masl
ach,Schaufel
i,&Leit
er,2001).
Thepr acticeofsel f-
car ereferst ot hepur posefulact i
onspeopl eandor ganizati
onst aket hat
contri
butet owel lnessandst ressr educt i
on( Alkema,Li nton,&Dav i
es,2008;Bar ker,2010;
Kil
li
an,2008;Kr aus,2005) . Per cept ionsofsel f-
car einvolvet heat ti
tudesandbel i
efsone
holdsaboutsel f-careandcanbei nfl
uencedbyav ari
etyofenv ironment alandper sonal
factors.Howev er,inast udyt odet er minet herelati
onshipbet weenper ceptionsofsel f-
car e
andqual ityoflif
eamongcl i
nicalpsy chologydoct oralstudent s,Goncher ,Sher man,Bar nett&
Haskins( 2013)f oundt hatper ceivedsel f-
careemphasi swasasi gnifi
cantpr edi
ctorofbot h
qualit
iesofl if
eandsel f
-carepr act i
ce.Wi ththese,i tishi ghlyneededt oconductast udy
i
ntendedf orDavaoCent ral911Rescuer sast hi
swi l
l enhancet heirl
ifeandsel f-
carepractices.
Inaddi ti
on,thiswi l
lser veasagoodst arti
ngpoi ntf orconduct i
ngdi fferentpsy chological
i
nterventionsf ort her escuers,sot hatt heycanf ur t
herachi evet heirgoali nsav i
ngmany
i
ndiv i
duals,andat tai
ningabet terpsy chologicalhygiene.
Theor
eti
cal
Framewor
k
Theresearchstudyi sanchor
edont heQual
it
yofLif
emodelbyJosephSi r
gy(1986)
,Sel
f-car
e
TheorybyDor otheaOr em (
between1959and2001),Sel
f-Compassi
ontheor
ybyKi r
sti
nNef f
(2003)
,and Resi li
enceTheorybyGr ef
f,Vanst
eenwegen& Ide(2006)
,and Zauszni
ewski,
Bekhet&Suresky(2009).
Concept
ual
Framewor
k
Thisstudyfocusesont heProQOLofDav aoCi
tyCent r
al911EMTs,i nrelati
ontot heir
educat
ionalat
tai
nmentandlengthofser
vice.Sel
f-
car
et echniques,Compassi
onSat i
sfacti
on,
CompassionFatigue,andBurnoutwereal someasuredal ongsidethesoci
o- demographic
var
iabl
es.
Sequent
ial
Expl
anat
oryMi
xedMet
hodDesi
gn

Quant
it
ati
ve

86EmergencyMedi
calTechni
cian[
EMT] Qual
i
tat
ive
ofDav
aoCi t
yCent
ral911
Tr
iangul
ati
on
*Soci
o-demographi
c:
Educati
onalAtt
ainment
EMTs:
LengthofServ
ice
2HighCS.

*
Standardi
zedTest:.
Str
uctured AverageBO.
LowCF
-
Pr
-
ofessi
onal
Compassi
Qual
onSat
i
i
t
sf
yofLi
act
i
f
on
e I
nter
view
2LowCS
-
Burnout
Aver
ageBO
-
Compassi onFat
igue
LowCF

*
Self
-Car eCheckl
i
st
2Team Leader
s
-
Physical
4Famil
yMember s
-
Psychol ogi
cal
-
Emot ional.
-
Spir
itual
-
Professional
 4

St
atementoft
hePr
obl
em
Thestudyai
medt odet
erminetheprof
essional
quali
tyofli
feandsel
f-
caretechni
queofDav
ao
Cent
ral911Rescuer
s.Speci
fi
call
y,i
tsoughttoanswerthefol
lowi
ngquesti
ons:
1.Whati
sthesoci
o-demogr
aphi
cpr
ofi
l
eoft
her
espondenti
nter
msof
:
1.
1Educat
ional
Att
ainment
;and,
1.
2Lengt
hofSer
vice?
2.Whati
sthecl
i
nical
prof
il
eofEmer
gencyMedi
cal
Techni
ciansi
nter
msoft
hef
oll
owi
ng:
2.
1Compassi
onSat
isf
act
ion;
2.
2Bur
nout
;and,
2.
3Compassi
onFat
igue?
3.Whatistheclini
calprofi
leofEmergencyMedi
calTechni
ciansaccordi
ngtoeachcategor
y
ofCompassionSatisfact
ion,Bur
nout
,andCompassionFatigueongr andtourquest
ionand
focusgr
oupdiscussion?
4.Whatsel
f-
car
etechni
quesdot
heEmer
gencyMedi
cal
Techni
cianspr
act
ice?
Si
gni
fi
canceoft
heSt
udy
Thef indi ngsoft hest udyar ebenef icialt ot heDav aoCi tyCent ral911,especi allyf ort he
Emer gencyMedi calTechni cians( EMTs) . Thi sst udyser vesasaf oundat ionalst udyf or
prov i
dingi nformat iont ot heDav aoCi tyDi sasterRi skReduct i
onManagementOf fice,and
Dav ao Ci t
y Publ ic Saf ety and Secur ity Command Cent er,in or dert o pr ovide f ur t
her
psychol ogicalinterv entionsf orther escuer s,aspsy chol ogicalaspecti soneoft het hingst hat
shoul dbeconsi der edi nor derforacer tainper sont obecomeahol ist
ici ndividual;t
hus, letti
ng
rescuer sf urt
heraddr esst hedemandsoft heircl i
ent s.Tot hev olunteer sofNDRRMC,i twi l
l
benef itt hem i nenhanci ngt hequal it
yofv olunt eersandt heout putt heycangi v et ot he
communi ty.In addi t
ion,t his studyshoul d cat ch t he interestoft he l ocaland nat i
onal
gover nmentuni ts,andencour aget hem t osuppor tpr ogramsf oraddressi ngt hepsy chol ogi cal
concer nsoft heci ty’sfirstresponder swhoar epr onet ocompassi onf at igueandbur nout ,as
wellas PTSD.Thi s st udy may encour age mor er esearcherst of or mulatei nt ervent i
on
progr amst hatwi l
laddr essot heremer gencyr esponder ’sneedsaccor dingt ot hei rwor k-
rel
at edconcer nst hatcanaf fectt heirpr ofessi onall if
e.Last ly
,t hi
sst udypr ovidespubl ic
awar enessoft hei mpor tanceofEMTswor kingr oundt hecl ockt or escuepeopl ei nt heir
cri
ses, andmor ei mpor tant l
y,howwecanhel pr escuet hem from theirownst ressor sast hey
fi
ghtt or egainabal anceoft heirpsy chological schema.
Met
hod
Thest udyut i
li
zedthesequent i
alexplanat orymixedmet hodsr esearchdesi gnbyJohnW.
Creswell(2014).Thestudyusedast ructuredquesti
onnaireandv al
idateitf ur
therthr
ough
focusgr oupdiscussi
on.Thest udyhadt wophases,t hefirstofwhi chwasaquant i
tati
ve
designutil
izi
ngasur v
eyinstrument(formeasur i
ngsoci
odemogr aphicv ar
iables),
theProQoL
questi
onnai r
e,andSelf-
Carechecklist.Eighty-si
x(86)EMTspar ti
cipatedint hisphase.The
secondphaseusedaqual i
tati
vedesign.I nt hi
sphase,ther esearcherdistr
ibutedthegr and
 5

tourquest ionnair
et othe EMTs,Team Leader s,and Fami ly Member s.A f ocus-
group
discussionwasal soconduct
edamongt hesei
ndiv
iduals,specif
ical
l
y,itwasconduct edto
three (3)subst ati
ons:Cabanti
an,Cali
nan,and Toril
.The f ocus-
group discussion was
parti
cipatedbyt hr
ee(3)EMTsf r
om Cabanti
an,t
wo(2)from Torial,
andthree(3)from Cali
nan
sub-stati
on.
Resear
chLocal
e
Thest
udywasconduct
edi
nDavaoCi
ty,part
icular
lyatt
heCentr
al911headquar
ter
satDaang
Pat
nubaySt
.,SI
RNewMati
na,
andthesub-st
ationsinTori
l
,Cal
i
nan,Cabant
ianandPanacan.
Respondent
s/Par
ti
cipant
s
Ther espondent
soft hestudywer et heEmer gencyMedi calTechni cians( EMTs)ofDav aoCi ty
Central911.Outof120Emer gencyMedi calTechni cians,at otalof86wer escreenedusi ng
thePr oQOLandSel f
-CareCheckl i
stt of iv
e( 5)st at i
ons.Fr om basel i
ner esult
s,av alidated
researchgrandt ourquestionnai rewasadmi nistered.Usi ngt hepur posi vesampl i
ngmet hod,
therespondentswer escreenedandsel ect edwi tht hef oll
owi ngcr it
eria:(1)Thepar ticipant s
musthav ecli
nicallysigni
ficantr esultsi nt hePr oQOLscal esofCompassi onSat isf action,
Burnout,and Compassi on Fat i
gue,and Sel f-Care Checkl i
st ;(2)The Emer gencyMedi cal
Technicianshavenotgonet hroughanypsy chosoci alsuppor tpr ogr am att hetimeoft his
study;(3)TheEmer gencyMedi calTechni ci
ansar ewi l
lingt opar ti
ci patei nthisstudy,andt hat
theyarenotunderanyst udywi thasi milarnat uredur ingt hei mpl ement ati
onoft hest udy ;( 4)
Emer gency Medi calTechni cians need t o hav e Hi gh Compassi on Sat i
sfacti
on,Av erage
Burnout,andLowCompassi onFat i
gue,and;( 5)TheEmer gencyMedi calTechni cianswi llbe
subjectedforani ntervi
ewaf tert heyanswer edt her esear chquest i
onnai reforaf ocusgr oup
processing.
Resear
chI
nst
rument
s
This st
udy empl oyed a mi
x ofst andar
dized tests(Appendix C)and r esearcher
-made
questi
onnaires(Appendi
xE)whi chi scomposedoff ourtypes:thepersonalpr ofi
l
e,the
PROQOLandSel f-Car
echeckli
st,theresearcher-
madeGr andTourquestionnaire,andFocus
Group Discussi
on.The research-made quest i
onnair
e was composed ofper sonalsoci
o-
demographicprofil
essuchasthename,educat ionalat
tai
nment,andlengthofser vi
ceofthe
part
ici
pants.
Resear
chPr
ocedur
es
Thefol
lowingstepswer efoll
owedbyt her esear
cher:Formulati
onofrequestlett
ertoDav ao
Cent
ral911,recei
vedandsi gnedbytheHeadofOper ati
on,meet i
ngwiththeheadoft r
aini
ng,
thef
ir
stmeet i
ngofr esear
cher,andEmer gencyMedi calTechnici
ans,
andconductt heProQOL
andSelf
-CareChecklist
.Analyzetheoutputandf or
mulatedaGr andTourQuest i
ons(GTQ)t o
EMTs,Team LeadersandFami l
yMember s.ConducttheGTQt oqual
if
iedEMTs, Team Leader
andFamilyMember s.
Dat
aAnal
ysi
s
Togi vemeaningtothedat agather
ed,st
ati
sti
calprocedureswereusedtoprocessthedat
a
gatheredint
hequantitat
ivephaseofthestudy.Descri
ptiv
estati
sti
cssuchast hemeanand
standarddevi
ati
on,frequency,andpercent
agewer ecomputedf orthesociodemogr
aphi
c
profi
le,Pr
oQOLscores,andSelf-
CareCheckl
ist
.
 6

The qual
it
ati
ve dat
a,on the ot
herhand,wer
etr
anscr
ibed and coded.The codeswer
e
organi
zedi
ntospeci
fict
hemes.
Et
hical
Consi
der
ati
ons
Theinformedconsentwasgiveninordertoconductthestudyi
ntheinsti
tut
ion.Thi
sisdone
wit
ht heapprov
aloftheChiefOperat
ingOffi
ceofCent r
al911.Al
lpart
ici
pantswereprovi
ded
wit
hinformedconsentfor
m.Thisisav olunt
arypart
ici
pati
onforthepurposeofpursui
ngthe
st
udyandhast heri
ghttowi t
hdraw ifnecessar
yt otheEMT,Team LeaderandFami l
y
Member s.
Duri
ngtheadminist
rati
onofdatafrom thepart
ici
pants,
benef
icencewasobser
vedtopr
otect
t
hepar t
ici
pant
soft hestudyf r
om possibledistr
ess.Thepr ocedur
esweredesi
gned to
mini
mizeharm andupholdthei
rwelfar
e.
Pursuantto RepublicActNo.10173,ort he Data Pri
vacyAct,confi
dent
ial
it
ywasal so
observed al
lthroughoutthest udy.Theresear
cherobser v
ed propermanagementofall
i
nformationprovidedbytheresearcher
.Thepart
ici
pants’i
denti
tywasalsokeptundi
scl
osed
al
lthroughoutthestudy
.
Ther
esearchermaintai
nedheri
ntegr
it
ybyav
oidi
ngmani
pul
ati
on,
fraud,
fabr
icat
ionofr
esul
ts,
andmisconductdur
ingtheent
ir
estudy.
RESULTSANDDI
SCUSSI
ON
Par
tI.PhaseResul
ts

Fr
equency Per
cent
age
Educat
ionalAtt
ainment
Vocati
onal 7 8.
14
Bachelor
's 79 91.86
Total 86 100.00

LengthofServi
ce
5yearsandbelow 77 89.53
6y earsandup 9 10.47
Tot
al 86 100.00

Tabl
e1.Demogr
aphi
cPr
ofi
l
eoft
heRespondent
s
Ofthe86respondent
s,ther
eweresevenEMTswhohav evocati
onaldegr
ees(8.
14%),whil
e79
haveobtai
nedtheirBachel
or’
sDegree(91.
86%).Sev
enty
-seven(77)EMTshav elessthan5
year
sofservice(89.
53percent)
,whil
enine(9)EMTshasbeeni ntheserv
iceformoret han
fi
veyear
s(10.47%).

Scores Percent
age SD I
nter
pretat
ion
Compassi
onSat i
sfact
ionScale 42.18 0.11 High
BurnoutScale 28.29 0.88 Average
Compassi onFati
gue 22.88 0.46 Low
Table2.TheCli
nicalPr
ofil
eofRespondents
 7

Thecompassi onsati
sfact
ionmeanof42.18(
SD=0.11)indi
cat
esthatEMTshaveaHighLevel
ofCompassi onSatisf
acti
oninthei
rwork.Thebur noutscor
esof28.29(SD=0.
88)indi
cat
e
averageburnout.Compassionf
ati
gue,onafinalnote,i
sobserv
edtobelowwi t
hascoreof
22.88(SD=0.46)
.

Sel
f-
Car
eTechni
que Ov
eral
lMean SD I
nter
pret
ati
on

Phy
sical
Sel
f-
Car
e 3.
77 0.
21 Of
ten

Psy
chol
ogi
cal
Sel
fCar
e 3.
03 0.
62 Somet
imes

Emot
ional
Sel
fCar
e 3.
45 1.
22 Of
ten

Spi
ri
tual 2.
83 1.
00 Somet
imes

Rel
ati
onshi
p 3.
25 0.
92 Somet
imes

Wor
kpl
aceorPr
ofessi
onal 3.
91 0.
59 Ver
yOf
ten

Tabl
e3.Sel
f-
Car
eTechni
quePr
act
ices
Thehi
ghestr
esul
tcamef r
om thewor kpl
aceorprof
essi
onalaspectthatshowedameanof
3.
91(Ver
yOft
en)andthespir
it
ualaspectwit
ha2.83aver
age(Sometimes).
Par
tII
.Resul
tsf
rom PhaseI
Ioft
heSt
udy
Thissect
ionshowst
hesummar
yoft
hedat
agat
her
edf
rom t
her
esear
chermadeagr
andt
our
questi
onnai
re.
Compassi
onSat isf
act
ion,Bur
nout
,andCompassi
onFat
igueaccor
dingt
otheEmer
gency
Medi
calTechni
cians
CompassionSatisf
acti
on.I nregardstocompassionsat isf
act
ion,theEMTsexpr essedthat
passi
onforthej
obandsoci alsuppor
twerethekeysour cesofstr
engt hforthem.Theystri
ved
toshowdedicat
ionandper sev er
ancetoempowerandmot i
vat
eeachot her
.Socialsuppor
tin
theworkpl
acewasav i
talpartofthei
rday.Theytypicall
ybegant heirworkdaysbygr eet
ing
thei
rseni
orsandstart
ingtheirshif
twithapr
ayer.Accordingtooner espondent:
“Ial
way sgivemy101%ef f
ortwhi
l
etreati
ngpati
ent
s,thi
shasbeenpar tofthet r
aini
ngwith
thebasicandadv ancedskil
l
sinsavingli
vesandalsomy15- year-
oldexperienceinpr e-
hospit
alcare.ThankingGodandtaki
ngcar eofmyfamil
yduri
ngday -off
sanddur ingduti
es
beenapr i
ori
tyandpl ayi
ngcomput
ergamesandwatchingmovi
es,readingar
ticl
es( WWIIand
pre-
hospit
alcare)andsingi
ng”
Burnout.Theresponsesoftherespondent
sofbur noutrel
atetotheirmot i
vati
ontodowell
andbemor eprofessi
onal
.Thishelpsthem avoi
dbur nout
.Theywer er esponsi
blefort
hei
r
primarycarewhichcoul
dhaveabi geff
ectonthei
rpsy chol
ogi
calcondit
ion.Accordi
ngtoone
respondent:
“Thepati
enceandper severancedowor kdespit
et hehardshipbutmadeust obeopen-
minded.Thededucti
vet hi
nkingandgoodwor ki
ngr el
ati
onshipscreat
eanadvantagei
nour
part
.Bytreati
ngsomebodyel seli
fe,soweshouldalwaysdealwi t
hourworkwithposi
ti
vi
ty.
Workiswor k,sowhetherwehav epersonalpr
oblemsornot ,weshoulddealourworkwit
h
 8

pr
ofessi
onal
i
sm.Wear
edoi
ngwel
li
nourj
obbycooper
ati
onandr
especti
neachot
her
.”
Compassionf at
iguewasgener al
l
ycounter
edbyt heEMTsv i
adebr ief
ingsessi
onsaftert
hei
r
runs.Theyhadalsolessenedcompassionfati
guebymanagingtheirti
mebot hatworkandat
home.Leisurel
yacti
vit
iesalsohel
pedthem unwind.Asoneoft
her espondentsst
ated:
“Whilewet aketimei nreadi
ngandhav i
ngcommuni cati
onwi thco-workers,exerci
seor
workout,
li
stentomusicandnev erbr
inghomest ressinworkhadsustai
nedt hebalanceinus.
Also,weextendt oatt
endspecialevents.Butsomet i
meswet endtoliedownandcr yout
oursel
vesinthedarkness.Dur
ingDay -
offwet endtoeat,sl
eep,goingoutandgi vi
ngt i
met o
thefamil
yafterworkwhenitdoesnotfallon-
dutyschedul
e”
Compassi
onSat
isf
act
ion,
Bur
nout
,andCompassi
onFat
igueaccor
dingt
otheTeam Leader
s
Team leader
salsoencounteredadiff
erentchal
lengeinthewor kpl
ace.Liketheent i
reteam,
theywerealsofacedwi t
hthesamest r
essfulsi
tuati
onsatwor k.However,theyalsoneedt o
managet heenti
reteam,notonlythesi
tuati
onstheyencounter.Thi
sgiven,theyseetoitthat
theresolveconfl
ict
si ntheteam bymaki ngtimet olist
ent oeveryone’ssentimentsand
probl
ems.Theyal sospentti
mewi thevery
one,especial
l
ydur i
ngmeal t
ime,andi nter
actwith
them v
iameaningfulconver
sati
ons.
I
nt hestudyofBožov i
ćandŽiv kovi
ć(2015)
,theyspeci
fi
edthatestabli
shi
ngstrongposit
ive
r
elati
onswithothersisakeyf actorwhenexposedtodisast
er.Withthi
s,worki
nginat eam
mustbev al
ued,especial
l
ythattheyareshari
ngacertai
nidenti
tyandthismakesaneffi
cient
wayinmanagingat eam.
Compassi
on Sat
isf
act
ion,Bur
nout
,and Compassi
on Fat
igue accor
ding t
othe Fami
l
y
Membersoft
heEMTs
Familymember s playa vi
talroleint he pr
ofessi
onalquali
tyofl i
fe ofEMTs.As they
understandther
igorsofbei
ngaf i
rstr
esponder,t
heyalsounder
stoodwhatt heyneedt
odoin
ordertohelpall
eviat
ethedist
ressthatthei
rlovedonesencounter.Accordi
ngtooneofthe
respondents:
“
Assuppor
t,weencour
aget
hem t
odowhatmadet
hem sat
isf
iedandcompl
eteasaper
son.
”
ThemesGl
eanedf
rom t
heFocusGr
oupDi
scussi
onTr
anscr
ipt
s
Ser
viceandposi
ti
veout
comesascont
ri
but
orst
oanEMT’
sjobsat
isf
act
ion.
“
Ifeelsati
sfi
ed.Therol
ethatweper
for
m hast
heki
ndofsat
isf
act
iont
hatot
herpeopl
edonot
r
ecogni ”EMT2,
zed. Group2
Sour
cesofBur
nout
.
“St
ressorsseem normalinanor ganizati
on;theycoul
dbey ourcol l
eaguesorbosses.The
usualendmostcommoncauseofst ressinmyj obi
sgett
ingr epri
mandedfornor eason.
Apartfr
om thelackofsl
eep,t
heunr esolv
edpr obl
emsoftheorganizat
ionleadt
omydesi r
eto
l
eavemyj ob.Thisal
socausesfeeli
ngsofbur nout
.”EMT1,Group1
 9

Copi
ng.
“I
nbigsituat
ions,theuni
tchi
efwil
lconductdebr
ief
ing.Butcommonl
ywehav
eourown
debr
ief
ingint
hest ati
onwi
tht
hest
ati
oncommander.”EMT1, Group3
SUMMARY,
CONCLUSI
ONSANDRECOMMENDATI
ONS
Summar
y
Thisstudyendeavoredtolookintotheexperi
encesoftheEMTsofDav aoCentral911in
ter
msoft hei
rProfessi
onalQual
ityofLif
e.Outof120EMTsi ntheorgani
zat
ion,only86
part
ici
patedandunderwentthest
ruct
uredquest
ioni
ngandint
erv
iewpr
ocess.
Thestandardi
zedtestsusedint
hestudyweretheProQOLandSel f
-CareCheckl
ist
.Asurvey
wasal soempl oy
edt ogathert
hedemogr aphi
cdat aoft her espondents.Thestudywas
conductedattheheadquar
ter
sofCentr
al911anditsseveralsub-st
ationssit
uat
edindif
fer
ent
part
soft heci
ty.I
twasfoll
owedbyagrandtourquest
ionnair
e.
Fi
ndi
ngs
Resul tsr evealedt hatt her ewer esev en( 7)EMTs( 8.14per cent)whot ookt hevocat ional
cour seand79EMTs( 91.86)t ookabachel or’
sdegr eewi that otalof86r espondents( 100. 00
percent ).Themaj ori
tyi nthi sgroupi ncluded77EMTswi thlesst hanf i
v e(5)y ear
sofser v ice
or89. 53per centandni ne( 9)EMTswhowor kedf or6y earsandabov et oanequi v
al entof
10.47per cent .Wi ththet ot alpopul ati
onof120cur rentEmer gencyMedi calTechnici
ans,t he
resear cherwasabl et or etri
eve86EMTst hatr eveal eda71. 66per cent.Thescor esal so
reveal ed that42. 18 per centoft he r espondent s showed a hi gh lev elofcompassi on
satisfaction.Int ermsofbur nout,28.29per centshowedav eragebur nout,whi l
e22.88per cent
showedl ow compassi onf ati
gue.Ther esult
sr evealedt hatEmer gencyMedi calTechni cians
physi calsel f
-carewas3. 77per cent,interpr
etedasof ten;psy chol ogicalsel f
-car
ewas3. 03
percent ,interpretedassomet i
mes;3. 45per centforemot i
onal,interpretedasof t
en;spi ritual
self-carewas2. 83per cent ,inter
pretedassomet i
mes; relati
onshipsel f-
car ewas3. 25per cent ,
i
nter preted as somet imes,and wor kpl ace orpr of essionalsel f-care was 3. 91 per cent ,
i
nter pretedasv eryof t
en.
Phase2 oft hest udyr eveal
edt heapplicati
onofdebr ief i
ngamong Emer gencyMedi cal
Techniciansaffectsthem.Thi sdemonst ratedthepassi onf orwor kr el
ati
vetosav i
nglives
andhel pingpeopl einneed.Fact orsthatencour aget heEmer gencyMedi calTechnici
ans’
posit
ivi
sm i nwor kwer ef amil
y,f
r i
endsandt hepeopl et heywer eservi
ng.Althoughtheir
natur
eofwor kwasst ressfult
heystil
lmanaget obal ancethei rworkandf amil
ytime.Wheni t
comest owor king,nomaj oroff
enseswer erecordedandmi sunderstandi
ngswithco-workers
werenotr ecognized.
Concl
usi
ons
Through t he Prof
essi
onalQual i
tyofLi f
e and Sel f-
Care Practi
ce,itwas obser
ved t
hat
Emer gencyMedi calTechnici
anshadhighsat i
sfaction,denoti
ngaposi t
iveoutl
ookdespi
te
thei
rwor kload.They wer e abl
et o establ
i
sh t heirself-
wor t
h and account
ed forthe
responsibil
ityt
heybearwitheveryr
escueoperati
ont heyencountered.
ThelifeofanEMTwaschal lengi
ngandi mpressi
vewhichbear sgreatr
esponsi
bil
i
tyand
requi
resanar
senalofski
l
lsneededforoper
ati
onaleff
ect
iveness.Theywereal
lexpectedt
o
 10

beaccurate,r
esponsi
veandquicki
nrespondi
ngt
hatwaswhyt
heyneedt
obehol
i
sti
cal
l
y
readyal
ltheti
mewhent heywer
eondut
y.
Somelimit
ationsofthest
udyi ncludetheder
eli
cti
onofot herCentr
al911uni
tssuchasf
ir
e-
fi
ght
ers,UrbanSearchandRescueandt heK-
9uni t
.Futureresear
chersmaycovert
heot
her
uni
tsoftheCentral
911,ut
il
izi
ngt hisst
udyasabaselineorrefer
ence.
I
nt heconductoft hest
udy,theresearcherconcl
udedthatlet
tingEMTsest abl
ishfurt
her
i
nterper
sonalr
elat
ionswi
thotherpeople,andlet
ti
ngotheror
ganizat
ionsconductcont
inuous
i
nvolvementwithEMTs’respecti
vefami lymembersandf ri
endswi lli
mprovet hement al
heal
thofEMTs.
Recommendat
ions
Wi
ththefi
ndi
ngsoft hisresear
ch,r
ecommendat
ionswer
ehi
ghl
i
ght
edf
ort
hef
utur
euseof
Pr
oQOLandself
-car
et echni
quetoEMTs.
ToDav aoCent
ral911,i
tref
lect
stheneedtof ostersel
f-
carepracti
cesaspartoft
hework-
li
fe
exper
iencesofEmergencyMedicalTechni
cianst hatwil
lcoverthei
rneedsasawhole.This
maybeconductedbyapsy chol
ogistorament al
healthprof
essionalr
esi
dingi
nDavaoCi
ty.
Anotherr
ecommendationcoul
dbeat wiceamont hassessmentofaPhy
sici
antoeval
uate
thephysi
calst
atusofemergencymedicalt
echnici
answhethert
heyar
ehav i
ngpoorheal
th
thatcanl
eadtoanincr
easeindev
elopi
ngmentalhealt
hprobl
ems.
Thisst udycanber epl
icat
edbyfutur
er esear
cherswit
ht heuseofapplicabl
e,modernand
tail
or-f
itapproachesofself-
car
epracti
ces.Also,t
oincl
udet heotheruni
tsofCentral911in
thef utur
estudybyusi ngacomparativ
eappr oachtodetermine,whoamongt hem wil
lyi
eld
signifi
cantscoresinProQOL.
Thi
sr esearchal
soal
lowst
hegener
alpubl
ictounder
standtheworkandl
if
eofanemer
gency
medicaltechni
ci
ans,
whocanal
sobesubject
edtomiseryli
keanyper
son.
Tot heemer gencymedi caltechnici
ans,i
ti srecommendedt hattheydevelopaself
-care
practi
cethatwi l
lbenef
itsel f
-wort
h,perseverance,el
i
minationofst r
essthroughbr
eathing
exerci
sestoboosterpsychological
immunityinli
neofdist
ressingsi
tuati
ons.
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