Topic: Paramedics in Canada are regularly exposed to potentially traumatic, painful, and injurious events. The exposures increase Paramedic risk for developing diverse symptoms of mental health disorders, including suicidal behaviours, as well as musculoskeletal difficulties such as chronic pain; simultaneously, anecdotal reports indicate stigma dramatically impedes PSP access to care. Until recently, the scope of the challenges faced by Paramedics has been extremely ambiguous. The presentation will review the quantitative and qualitative results from five recent peer-reviewed publications that contextualize paramedic responses to a national survey relative to other Public Safety Personnel (PSP) (e.g., call centre operators, correctional workers and officers, firefighters, police). The size and scope of the challenge appears to warrant substantial investments and change efforts to better support Paramedic health using evidence-based methods wherever possible. The presentation will conclude with a description of the next steps CIPSRT is taking towards such support for Paramedics.
Speaker: Dr. R. Nicholas Carleton, Ph.D., R.D. Psych.
R. Nicholas Carleton, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Regina. He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopaedia entries exploring the fundamental bases of anxiety and related disorders. He has completed more than 200 national and international conference presentations. He also serves as an active member of several national and international professional associations. He has completed clinical training with the Calgary Consortium, the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Regions, the University of Regina, and the Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre in Ontario.
Dr. Carleton has received several prestigious awards including a 5-year Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Salary Award. He has also received a 5-year Canadian Institutes of Health Research Operating Grant, as well as several other research grants. He has also been the recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumnus Crowning Achievement Award from the University of Regina Alumni Association, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Brain Star Award, a Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation New Investigator Establishment Grant, and a Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation New Investigator Equipment Grant, the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies Distinguished Dissertation Award in Engineering, Medical Sciences, and Natural Sciences, and a Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal. Most recently Dr. Carleton is leading a national team of researchers in a longitudinal biopsychosocial assessment of Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Dr. Carleton is also currently serving as the Scientific Director for the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment.
Dr. Carleton is actively involved in clinical and experimental research, with his interests including the biopsychosocial measurement, assessment, and treatments of trauma, anxiety, and somatic disorders, focusing on transdiagnostics, fundamental cognitions (i.e., lower-order factors such as intolerance of uncertainty), and shared emergent properties (i.e., higher-order factors such as extraversion). He enjoys teaching and supervision of undergraduate and graduate students, and maintains a small private practice for military, first responders, and other public safety personnel who have anxiety and related disorders, particularly pain and posttraumatic stress.
Speaker: Renée S. MacPhee, R.S. (Phd)
Dr. Renée MacPhee holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology (Carleton University), and graduate and post-graduate degrees in Gerontology from the University of Waterloo.
She is an Associate Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in the Kinesiology & Physical Education Department with a cross-appointment to the Health Sciences Department. In July of 2017, she was appointed to the position of Associate Director (Paramedic Sector) at the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT). She is also the Executive Director for the Ottawa Paramedic Physical Abilities Test (OPPATTM)
Renée co-authored the seed document that would serve as the foundation from which to develop the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Paramedic Psychological Workplace Health &Safety (PPWHS) Standard (Z1003.1). In addition, she served as the research representative on the CSA Technical Committee for the PPWHS Standard.
As a recognized qualitative researcher, MacPhee’s expertise is in pre-hospital care settings and paramedics, with a particular focus on: physical health, injury, and mental health among Canadian paramedics; development and implementation of bona fide physical fitness testing parameters for the field of emergency medical services (EMS); and, treatment and outcome of pre-hospital cardiac arrests. She recently conducted a multi-phased study entitled the, “Canadian Paramedic Health & Wellness”, which included a detailed survey designed to describe a paramedic workplace profile in Canada, in addition to focus group and personal interviews, and personal fitness assessments. Her publication record includes peer-reviewed journals, technical reports, book chapters, and paramedic specific professional journals as well as over 80 presentations to scientific, academic, professional, and community audiences.
In working with frontline paramedics, it has been Dr. MacPhee’s long-held belief that successful research in the field of paramedicine is the result of work that is done with paramedics, for paramedics. The integration of frontline paramedics into, and throughout, the research process is paramount if researchers are to produce work that effects positive and impactful changes within the paramedic profession. To this end, engaging paramedics in her research remains at the forefront of the work that she does.
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