Judy Hughes

Exposure to Human Tragedy, Empathy, and Trauma in Ambulance Paramedics

Paramedics are exposed to events involving human pain and suffering on a daily basis, many of which are the result of violence perpetrated by 1 individual on another. For the most part, these emergency workers have learned to deal with such events and take them in stride. At times, however, certain circumstances lead workers to develop an emotional connection with the victim or his or her family. When this occurs, paramedics report increased symptoms of traumatic stress. Aspects that can trigger this connection include the victims alienation from others, profound loss, or the abuse of an innocent child. One of the coping strategies described in these circumstances is to manage the events on a cognitive and technical level while maintaining an emotional distance. Although such a strategy may be protective, it may also have long-term negative effects in terms of interpersonal relationships. This mixed-methods study attempts to better understand factors that lead to higher levels of distress among paramedics within the theoretical framework of emotional and cognitive empathy.

Evaluating a Measure of Student Field Performance in Direct Service: Testing Reliability and Validity of Explicit Criteria.

This study examines the reliability and validity of a measure to evaluate student field performance. Results demonstrated a consistent factor structure with excellent internal consistency, however, there was inadequate consistency between ratings of individual students in their first and second field education experiences. The measure had some predictive validity in that it could differentiate between students identified as having difficulty in Year 1 of the program, but not in Year 2. Scores were significantly associated with academic grades. Implications for future instrument development and the process of evaluation are considered.

Toward New Approaches for Evaluating Student Field Performance: Tapping the Implicit Criteria Used by Experienced Field Instructors

Abstract This study determined the reliability of ratings and consistency of descriptions generated by experienced field instructors using only their acquired practice wisdom as a framework to evaluate students. Ten field instructors independently divided 20 student vignettes into as many categories as necessary to reflect various levels of student performance, described their categories, and ranked the individual vignettes within each category. The independently generated categories and their descriptions were very similar across instructors, and the inter-rater reliability was very high both for the placement of vignettes into categories (0.77) and the rankings (0.83).

Postmortem Inquiries and Trauma Responses in Paramedics and Firefighters

Following a critical event resulting in loss of life, members of emergency service organizations are frequently required to participate in postmortem inquiries that seek to understand the cause of the tragedy and ensure that such an event does not occur again. Although researchers have become increasingly knowledgeable about the effects of critical events on rescue workers, to date, no studies have focused on the stress and trauma experienced as a result of having ones actions questioned in such a process. This study compares trauma responses in firefighters and paramedics who have been questioned in postmortem inquiries following a critical event in the work-place and those who have not. Involvement in a review was found to be associated with significantly higher traumatic stress and depression symptoms. Those involved in reviews were more likely to have taken mental health stress leave. In addition, both media coverage of the event and the review were significantly associated with depression scores.

Mothers’ Narratives of Their Involvement With Child Welfare Services

Centering on practice within child welfare systems, this article focuses on four representative narratives derived from 32 in-depth qualitative interviews with women who experienced intimate partner violence and involvement with the child welfare system in Manitoba and British Columbia, Canada. Narrative analysis was used to explore the content of mothers’ stories to understand how they position themselves against their child welfare workers’ understanding of them as “failed” mothers. This article concludes with recommendations to enhance practice with mothers who are involved with child welfare systems

Children’s best interests and intimate partner violence in the Canadian family law and child protection systems:

This article summarizes the findings of a project investigating women’s experiences with the Canadian child protection (CPS) and family law (FLS) systems. We examine both service systems together here because although both privilege children’s best interests as their primary consideration and define the concept similarly, the two systems diverge in their expectations of women relative to child custody. While FLS requires women to accept custody arrangements that provide close and continued contact between themselves and their former abusive partners, CPS expects women to leave these same abusive partners or risk removal of their children. The results of thirty-five qualitative interviews with women demonstrate their struggles, firstly, in having their experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) recognized by professionals in the FLS, and, secondly, in becoming caught between the opposing expectations of CPS and FLS while not receiving help from either. Recommendations for change to improve these services are included in this article.

Women’s Advocates and Shelter Residents: Describing Experiences of Working and Living in Domestic Violence Shelters:

Domestic violence shelters are a crucial service for women who have experienced violence and abuse from intimate partners. Despite research that demonstrates the effectiveness of shelter stays, little is known about the practices that occur and the interventions offered. Using data from qualitative interviews with six women’s advocates and six shelter residents, the article explores and documents the advocates’ practices and the impact of the shelter stay on women residents. The women’s advocates report that they provide women residents time to become comfortable, empower them to set their own goals and make their own decisions, and then help them to connect to other community resources. They also stressed that shelters are homes and they want to create environments within their shelters that are nonchaotic and violence free, so that the interactions encountered in these settings are different from women residents’ experiences with their abusive partners. The women residents reported receiving interventions that were similar to the descriptions that the advocates provided about their practice. For these women, being able to feel comfortable, safe, cared for, respected, and not judged was central to feeling helped during their shelter stay. Although the interview accounts revealed the importance of the relationship between advocates and residents, the findings also demonstrate that the environment within these shelters is equally significant to determining the quality of residents’ experiences.

Practising Social Work Research: Case Studies for Learning

Teaching research to social work students is a daunting task. Research classes introduce a new language of concepts and practices that seem removed from the more familiar topics and approaches taught in social work practice courses. With Practising Social Work Research: Case Studies for Learning, Csiernik, Birnbaum and Pierce offer a discussion of research methods contextualized with case study examples. The preface describes the book as a collaborative effort based on the authors’ collective teaching experiences. Targeted to social work students, the book offers a case-based approach to learning research concepts and methods. The book is organized into 17 sections corresponding to different topics, such as ethics, measurement and sampling. Discussion of these topics is similar to other general research method texts. What is new in this book is that each of the sections begins with a case example and a set of discussion questions designed to stimulate thinking. A final section of the book describes how to critique qualitative and quantitative approaches to research followed by additional case examples to illustrate these processes. At times, I found the physical arrangement of the text difficult, as the 17 sections blend into one another without clear divisions. In reading some sections, I found myself wishing that the described case examples were more substantive. The strength of the approach used by these authors is that discussion of research methods and concepts are grounded in the case example providing opportunity for social work students to connect the abstract discussion of research concepts and theory to information contained in the case examples. The Canadian case examples will be a welcome addition for instructors at Canadian universities, but these examples are not too specific. Therefore they will be useful and understandable in other jurisdictions. The authors provide a positivistic or post-positivistic approach to presenting research methods, but without explicit articulation of this position. Only one section, which describes a participatory action research project, focuses on methods that are community based and anti-oppressive. The other case examples assume an expertdriven and objective approach to designing and implementing research, such as single case and group outcome designs. Meaningful inclusion and discussion of the politics of doing research and more case examples of research which take an explicitly antioppressive and advocacy approach would recognize social work’s commitment to