PARA2100 Ethics, Conflict and Crisis Management in Accident and Emergency Medicine Course description

This course deals with interaction and communication with patients and next of kin in stress and crisis situations. Communication with patients, next of kin, colleagues and others requires ambulance personnel to be systematic and aware in their dialogue with the above. The course elucidates different conflict situations in prehospital work.

Passed the first and second years of the programme.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student:

• has knowledge of stress and crisis reactions in patients, next of kin and health personnel
• is capable of identifying problematic ethical and communication issues
• is capable of identifying issues relating to attitudes linked to health care work in a multicultural society
• has knowledge of conflicts and conflict escalation
• has knowledge of conflict management in dealings with patients with serious mental illnesses
• has knowledge of conflict management in situations involving threats of violence
• has knowledge of conflict management in dealings with people under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• has knowledge of the principle of necessity, self-defence and the interface between paramedics and the police
• has knowledge of qualitative methodology

Skills

The student

• is capable of, based on simulated situations, telling individuals or groups in a respectful and caring manner that someone has died or communicating other serious messages
• is capable of, based on simulated cases, choosing a relevant communication and conflict management strategy, and gaining training and experience in setting limits
• is capable of processing and applying qualitative research results in written presentations

General competence

The student

• has the ability to recognise and reflect on ethical and communicative challenges in dealings with people in crisis
• has the ability to recognise conflict situations and prevent them from escalating

The work and teaching methods vary between lectures, simulation and skills training, study groups, seminars and self-study.

Practical training

Simulation and skills training linked to conflict situations and telling people that someone has died or communicating other serious messages.

This course is a continuation of and specialisation in relation to the course Emergency Medicine A (PARA2000). The focus is on certain challenging treatment issues and patient groups with special needs.

Passed the first and second years of the programme.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has broad knowledge of tentative diagnosis and intervention linked to emergency medical conditions
• has knowledge of drug treatment for children and pregnant and breastfeeding women
• has knowledge of gynaecological conditions and obstetrics
• has knowledge of diseases and injuries that affect patient groups with special needs, such as newborn babies, children, the elderly, people with chronic illnesses and people with disabilities
• has knowledge of and can recognise neglect and abuse in vulnerable patient groups
• has knowledge of children's development
• has knowledge of normal physiological parameters in children
• has knowledge of how aging affects the development and treatment of emergency medical conditions
• has knowledge of how to practise the duty of confidentiality in relation to minors/persons without legal capacity
• has knowledge of the duty to report to other agencies (the police, child welfare service) in the event of e.g. suspicion of abuse or neglect
• has knowledge of Section 29 c of the Health Personnel Act Information to be used in learning work and quality assurance

Skills

The student

• is capable of assessing the connections between signs and symptoms in emergency medical conditions in one or more organ systems
• is capable of recognising and assisting in normal and complicated births outside a hospital setting
• is capable of examining, assessing and treating ill and injured children
• is capable of examining, assessing and treating very old patients and patients suffering from dementia
• is capable of explaining the differences between hospital levels, the municipal health service's care levels and the health trusts' division/centralisation of special functions in order to choose the correct destination in different clinical situations

General competence

The student

• is capable of planning and carrying out relevant emergency medicine tasks linked to ambulance call-outs
• has an efficient and expedient prehospital approach to a broad range of patients

The work and teaching methods vary between lectures, seminars, study groups, simulation and skills training, observational practice and self-study.

Practical training

The students do around 2 days of observational practice at a children's ward. The students also complete simulation and skills training in simulator-based birth assistance, systematic patient examination and documentation, decision-making in emergency medicine, choosing treatment and transport strategies and the use of monitoring equipment.

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:

• minimum attendance of 80% at seminars and study groups
• minimum attendance of 90% at simulation and skills training
• minimum attendance of 90% in observational practice at a children's ward
• a written observation report, up to 800 words