ABSTRACT
Background. Burnout has been studied in several emergency medical services contexts and has been found to be high compared with that found in other health professions. Although burnout among students has been described in several healthcare disciplines; this has not been done in the field of prehospital emergency care. Objectives. To determine the prevalence of burnout among students in a 4-year university paramedic degree programme and to assess whether there was any significant difference in the prevalence of burnout among students during the 4 years of study. Methods. In this cross-sectional survey all students enrolled in a 4-year university paramedic degree programme were invited to participate. The questionnaire consisted of 19 questions from the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI); combined with distractor questions. Responses were analysed descriptively and one-way analysis of variance was used to compare CBI scores across the 4 academic years of study. Results. An 85% (n=93) response rate was obtained. The overall prevalence of burnout was 31%. Mean CBI scores across all academic years of study were highest for personal burnout; followed by work-related burnout and patient care-related burnout.The highest prevalence of students with burnout was in the 4th year; as was the highest prevalence of work-related and personal burnout. The second highest prevalence of students with burnout was in the 1st year; as was the highest prevalence of patient care-related burnout. No significant difference was found in CBI total burnout scores across the 4 years of study. Conclusion. Although there are no directly comparable data; the prevalence of burnout in this group of students appears to be high; particularly in the 1st and 4th years of study. Steps should be taken to ensure access to social and psychological support to avoid a negative impact on academic success and student wellbeing
Subject(s)
Burnout, Professional , Emergency Medical Services , Prevalence , South AfricaABSTRACT
The use of 70 isopropyl alcohol to prepare the site of skin puncture for reagent strip blood glucose testing has been reported to produce falsely elevated blood glucose levels. The objective of this study was to identify if any significant difference existed between the capillary blood glucose levels of healthy volunteers tested using a capillary blood glucose reagent test strip and reflectance photometer; comparing results obtained (i) with and without the use of 70 isopropyl alcohol to prepare the site of skin puncture and results obtained (ii) with and without 70 isopropyl alcohol using the first and second drops of blood. Data analysis revealed a significant interaction between the two factors specified above. If 70 isopropyl alcohol using the first and second drops of blood. Data analysis revealed a significant interaction between the two factors specified above. If 70 isopropyl alcohol is used to prepare the skin there is a significant elevation of 0.39 mmol/l in mean blood glucose concentration between results obtained using the first and second drops of blood while if the first drop of blood is used there is a significant elevation in mean blood glucose concentration of 0.49 mmol/l between results obtained using and not using 70 isopropyl alcohol to prepare the skin