Publication: Assessing the psychobiological demands of high-fidelity training in pre-hospital emergency medicine

Mark A. Wetherell & Glenn Williams from Northumbria University and Jeff Doran from The James Cook University Hospital have published the first comprehensive assessment of psychobiological responding during continuous high-fidelity training in pre-hospital emergency medicine at the renowned Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine.

The study assessed a sample of doctors and paramedics during training and a weekend of no activities. Training involved the acquisition of human factors, non-technical and surgical skills, and their application in complex high-fidelity scenarios including road-traffic accidents, firearms incidents, and swift water rescue operations. On each day participants reported levels of state, cognitive, and somatic anxiety, and self-confidence following waking and before sleep, and their anticipated (at wake) and experienced (before sleep) demands of the day. Saliva samples were obtained each day for assessment of diurnal cortisol indices and the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR). Garmin smartwatches were worn throughout for the collection of heart rate and HRV-derived stress. Data was collected, synchronized and assessed using the Fitrockr Health Solutions platform.