If you are a patient who is in a medical serious condition and fighting for life, would you be okay with an air ambulance professional who is fatigued and has been working a shift of almost 24 hours? Would you perceive this condition to be grave for your life? Although air ambulance personnel these days are not expected to work abnormally long hours, this fact is something you should know about. In this context, one must note that 24-hour shifts were a practice, if not common practice, prior to 1997. We bring you a research conducted in this regard by the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, which is a part of National Center for Biotechnology Information, a US Government undertaking.
The Findings of the Report were Astounding and Contrary to Popular Belief
The primary objective of the research was to assess the psychomotor agility and skill performance of the air ambulance personnel when they worked 12-hour shifts versus 24-hour shifts. The data gathered pertaining to 24-hour shifts belongs to the pre-1997 era. The data collected was compared with times when the air ambulance industry was mandated to work for limited number of hours as against the time when shifts spanning 24 hours were not alien. Intubation – a critical task that is undertaken routinely – was used as a scale to measure the efficiency of the air ambulance professionals. Surprisingly enough, there was hardly a difference between ‘overworked’ professionals and the ones who worked reasonable hours.
How Do Air Ambulance Professional Manage to Work at Optimal Efficiencies?
The answer may lie in the fact that failure is not an option when lives are at stake. No matter what the level of fatigue, when people who are driven by passion and compassion are put in a situation where the outcome depends on how they perform, the chances are they will try their best and come out winners. The fact is also an ode to the dedication of the professionals belonging to the air ambulance industry.
