In the wake of disaster, emergency service workers including police officers, firefighters, and paramedics are first on the scene and last to leave. Their heroic actions save lives, provide comfort to and care for the wounded, and inspire onlookers, but at what cost to themselves? We now know that rescue workers who are exposed to mutilated bodies, mass destruction, multiple casualties, and life threatening situations may become the hidden victims of disaster. The sequelea in terms of traumatic stress symptoms and depressive symptoms has the potential to be highly disruptive and long-standing ... More

In the wake of disaster, emergency service workers including police officers, firefighters, and paramedics are first on the scene and last to leave. Their heroic actions save lives, provide comfort to and care for the wounded, and inspire onlookers, but at what cost to themselves? We now know that rescue workers who are exposed to mutilated bodies, mass destruction, multiple casualties, and life threatening situations may become the hidden victims of disaster. The sequelea in terms of traumatic stress symptoms and depressive symptoms has the potential to be highly disruptive and long-standing for both the individual worker and their families, and the organizations in which they work. Additionally, emergency workers are exposed to events involving human pain and suffering on a daily basis. While for the most part emergency workers are equipped to deal with these events, on occasion one particular event will have a lasting impact. This book is based on the authors’ combined experience of over forty years of clinical work in emergency departments and with emergency service organizations. It provides an overview of the issue of trauma in the emergency services.