Pedagogical sciences / 2. Problems of training of professionals

PhD, Ivashchenko O.A.

Cherkasy Institute of Fire Safety named after Chornobyl Heroes of NU of CD of Ukraine, Ukraine

Influence of extreme working conditions on emergency service professionals

Emergency service professionals have one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. They are in the position when they risk their own lives to protect lives and property of the community. Their work is characterized by extreme conditions such as aggressive environment, dealing with consequences of different emergencies and natural disasters, rescuing people and property, physical and emotional challenges, and high level of responsibility. They have to be able to make adequate decisions quickly in the face of adversity. Accidents, injuries and even rescuer fatalities frequently occur in the line of duty on the accident scene.

Analysis of the professional activity of emergency service specialists under extreme conditions has shown that they respond to the impact of extreme factors depending on: their constitutional characteristics, different susceptibility to external, especially information factors, ethnicity, time spent at the accident scene, environmental and climatic characteristics of places of permanent residence. Operating under emergency conditions leads to the development of personal behavioral modes depending on the type of temperament, character, cognitive and volitional processes, knowledge and experience of specialists.

The scientific literature presents peculiarities of individual response of rescuers to extreme conditions. The researchers note such manifestations as changes in the quality of performed work (ability to perform usual activities in new conditions worsens, the number of erroneous actions increases and speed of work decreases, a tendency to impulsive actions appears), cases of forgetting even the simplest instructions, unjustified haste, restlessness, great excitement, motor discoordination, leading to a complete failure of operations, a sense of indifference, hopelessness, depression [1].

Rescuers can experience feelings of anxiety, fear, and reluctance to be active when danger is imminent. Such state is characterized by the loss of sense of security and hope for existence, which can destroy the personality by the appearing passivity, humility, indifference to life, the feeling of chronic fatigue, pain, and energetic emptiness. Blocking of thinking is characterized by localization of cognitive functions, blocking of emotions, sense of emptiness, regression and degradation [2]. Thus, such states can not only lead to fatal consequences when performing duties but also can destroy the health of the individual and inter-family relations.

Emergency service needs teams because the job cannot be done by just one specialist. Many pieces of equipment cannot be operated by a single person. Most of the procedures and techniques require several people. In addition, from a safety standpoint, an emergency service professional is never allowed, for example, to enter a burning structure alone. The environment constitutes many dangers and risks, none of which can be combat or overcome on one’s own. Efficiency improves through good communication and well-defined roles and responsibilities. Teamwork fundamentals are trust, respect and communication. One person’s strengths fill the gap for another’s weaknesses. Every team member should focus on the development and accomplishment of common goals and purposes.

When any member of the team is unable to cope with the influence of extreme conditions and is experiencing one of the states mentioned above, it can destroy the work of all departments and require from personnel another plan of actions. It means the redistribution of roles, preventing total panic, instant response to unpredictable events or behavior of victims or team members and ensuring emergency assistance if necessary.

Taking into account all the dangers of the profession the requirements to future specialists of emergency service should be strict. They should have certain traits of character, individual psychological peculiarities and professionally important qualities. Professionally important qualities are defined as those that ensure the efficient fulfillment of professional tasks in extreme and everyday conditions and are determined for each group of professions.

It is stressed that psychological training of professionals to perform their duties under extreme conditions is of vital importance. Psychological preparedness of specialists cannot be overestimated, but does not guarantee that the situation will be overcome successfully [1]. Thus, the psychological training of future professionals depends on the peculiarities of their response in an emergency, especially the ability to monitor the emotional state, to adapt quickly to conditions that are dangerous to life and health. It is necessary to strengthen their skills of resilience, manage potential challenges, develop the ability to concentrate and make effective decisions under the extreme conditions. Professional training should focus on teaching the basic skills of self-control and self-help when the specialist encounters potentially dangerous and emotionally difficult situations.

It is indicated in scientific literature that professional training of specialists for emergency service should include direct training to face life-threatening and highly stressful situations [2]. But it is impossible to modify situations associated with multiple fatalities and destruction in artificial conditions, and it makes the process of developing necessary adaptive skills more complicated.

So, the most important task while training future specialists is to build a foundation of physical and psychological readiness of rescuers for handling mental and physical challenges. Because when the rescuer is not ready to perform his duty on the fire scene, it can lead to failure of the whole rescue operation and can result in the increased number of victims and even rescuers fatalities.

References:

1. Christopher Brennan. The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness. - 2011. - 281 p.

2. Daniel John Dodd. Comparison of Psychological and Physiological Response in Firefighters. - 2008. – 92 p.