C2 - Workforce Safety & Wellness: Key Terms

Question 1

Acute Stress Reaction

Answer 1

Reaction to stress that occurs during a stressful situation.

Question 2

Airborne Transmission

Answer 2

The spread of an organism in aerosol form, such as droplets or dust.

Question 3

Blind Panic

Answer 3

A fear reaction in which a person’s judgement seems to disappear entirely; it is particulary dangerous because it may cause mass panic among others.

Question 4

Bloodborne Pathogens

Answer 4

Pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans; include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus, and human immunodeficiency virus.

Question 5

Burnout

Answer 5

The exhaustion of physical or emotional strength.

Question 6

Communicable Disease

Answer 6

Any disease that can be spread from person to person or from animal to person.

Question 7

Conversion Hysteria

Answer 7

A reaction in which a person subconsciously transforms his or her anxiety into a bodily dysfunction; the person may be unable to see or hear or may become partally paralyzed.

Question 8

Critical Incident

Answer 8

An event that overwhelms the ability to cope with the experience, either at the scene or later.

Question 9

Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM)

Answer 9

A process which utlizes trained counselors who confront responses to critical incidents and help to defuse them, directing emergeny services personnel toward physical and emotional equilbrium.

Question 10

Cumulative Stress Reaction

Answer 10

Prolonged or excessive stress.

Question 11

Defense Mechanisms

Answer 11

Psychological ways to relieve stress; they are usually automatic or subconsious; they include denial, regression, proection, and displacement.

Question 12

Delayed Stress Reaction

Answer 12

Reaction to stress that occurs after a stressful situation.

Question 13

Denial

Answer 13

An early response to a serious medical emergency, in which the severity of the emergency is diminished or minimized. Denial is the first coping mechanism for people who believe they are going to die.

Question 14

Direct Contact

Answer 14

Exposure to or transmission of a communicable disease from one person to another by physical contact.

Question 15

Displacement

Answer 15

A defense mechanism characterized by the redirection of an emotion from one person to another.

Question 16

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Answer 16

A counseling program to help with situations that may affect the health and well-being of emergency medical services professionals.

Question 17

Fight-or-Flight Response

Answer 17

A physiologic response to a profound stressor that helps a person deal with the situation at hand; features increased sympathetic tone and results in dilation of pupils, increased heart rate, dilation of the bronchi, mobilization of gluose, shunting of blood away from the gastrointestinal tract and cerebrum, and increased blood flow to the skeletal muscles.

Question 18

Indirect Contact

Answer 18

Exposure or transmission of disease from one person to another by contact with a contaminated, inanimate object.

Question 19

Infection

Answer 19

The invasion of a host or host tissues by organisms such as bacteria, viruses, or parasites, with or without signs or symptoms of disease.

Question 20

Infection Control

Answer 20

Procedures to reduce transmission of infection among patients and health care personnel.

Question 21

Infectious Disease

Answer 21

A disease that is cause by the growth and spread of small, harmful organisms within the body, or one that is capable of being transmitted with or without direct contact.

Question 22

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Answer 22

A delayed stress reaction to a previous incident, often the result of one or more unresolved issues concerning the incident.

Question 23

Projection

Answer 23

A defense mechanism characterized by blaming un acceptable feelings, motives, or desires on others.

Question 24

Regression

Answer 24

A defense mechanism characterized by a return to more childlike behavior while under stress.

Question 25

Standard Precautions

Answer 25

Protective measures that have traditionally been developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use in dealing with objects, blood, body fluids, or other potential exposure risks of communicable disease.

Question 26

Stress

Answer 26

A reaction of the body to any agent or situation that requires the person to adapt.

Question 27

Stressor

Answer 27

Any agent or situation that causes stress, whether good or bad.

Question 28

Transmission

Answer 28

The way in which an infectious agent is spread: contact (direct or indirect), airborne, foodborne, or vector-borne.