The Bottom Line
This text provides information generally not found elsewhere in prehospital educational materials. This is an important topic that ought to have more resources dedicated to it. Virginia Duffy writes with an authoritative voice with good command of her topic.
Pros
- Fills a void in prehospital education
- Easy to read
- Covers many types of psychiatric and behavioral emergencies
Cons
- Many chapters repeat information
Description
- Title: Behavioral First Aid: Managing Emotions During Emergencies
- Author: Virginia J. Duffy, PhD, RN
- Publisher: Blue Note Books 1-800-624-0401
- ISBN: 1-878398-54-7
- 11 chapters with questions at the end of each chapter - answers found in the appendix
- Includes references and an index
Guide Review - Behavioral First Aid
Behavioral First Aid: Managing Emotions During Emergencies provides tips and suggestions for handling several different types of behavioral and psychiatric emergencies. The author covers basic principles in communicating with psychiatric patients, as well as issues surrounding the management of rescuer emotions.
Other than the chapter on basic principles, each chapter covers a different type of emergency. Much of the information is repeated and I feel a different format may have worked better. On the other hand, this format provides an easy reference manual.
One of the things I like most about the book is Dr. Duffy's focus on communication. From Behavioral First Aid: Managing Emotions During Emergencies:
"In an emergency situation, good communication between the responder and the patient is crucial. It can make the difference between success and failure in a rescue. During crises, anxiety can cause difficulty in both giving and understanding directions, thus resulting in faulty communication between rescuer and patient."Overall, I think this textbook could be very useful as part of a basic EMT or First Responder course. The ease of reading will keep students interested, and the depth of knowledge of the author is evident.
