Wouldn’t it be nice to go to Virginia Beach during May 27 – 31st? The sun should be shining, the water should be warming up and the Office of EMS will be there for the Annual CISM Conference!
We all know that the demands of being an EMS provider, administrator or dispatcher can be stressful. But what happens when the stress becomes too much, or the next call you go on is one that you just can’t get over? Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM – as we all commonly refer to it as), is a program that allows EMS providers, firefighters, police officers and other public safety professionals to deal with a stressful situation through debriefing and other methods that help diffuse the situation. The daily stressors can build up which can lead to job burn out and serious health issues, so it is important to learn how to deal with them in a healthy way.
The CISM Conference is featuring classes like the Post Critical Incident Seminar that will allow people to talk about the worst of the worst and learn how to better deal with stress. Also, there is a class on Healthy Living and Stress Management that will talk about some fun things like massage, deep breathing and even acupuncture and yoga!
For this OEMS blogger, there are two classes in particular that I am very interested in sitting in on. The first is Line of Duty Death:Fallen Fire Fighters, which will feature members of the Charleston, SC Fire Department discussing how they dealt with the loss of nine of their own in 2007. The other class is the Virginia Tech Panel that will explore the process of providing CISM in the aftermath of the tragedy and the lessons learned.
For those of you who are interested in CISM or becoming part of a team, we will have the training classes that you will need.
Be sure to visit the OEMS Web site to learn more about CISM and to register for the conference today www.vdh.virginia.gov/oems!
Stay safe out there!
