Jennings, Kath (2026) Easing suffering: ways of being a paramedic caring for young people who have been stabbed deliberately. In: Postgraduate Research (PGR) Conference, 11th June 2026, University of Greenwich. (Unpublished)

PDF (Powerpoint Presentattion) 54913 JENNINGS_Easing_Suffering_Ways_Of_Being_A_Paramedic_Caring_(POWERPOINT PRESENTATION)_2026.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (661kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Background: Hospital admissions in the UK for knife-related injuries among children under 16 years rose 93% between 2012 and 2019. Knife crime data focuses on hospitals or police, overlooking prehospital interventions. This research study asks, ‘What meaning do paramedics make for caring for young people stabbed deliberately?’
Methods: Hermeneutic phenomenology provided the methodological approach, informed by the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. A purposive sample of eight UK paramedics participated in open and dialogical one-to-one interviews, either online or in person, between April and October 2024.
Core Findings: an overarching phenomenon disclosed itself: Easing suffering, naming a mode of being with young patients shown through three constitutive patterns: - Readying (pre-arrival experiences); Reaching (arrival at scene and engagement with patients and others); and Reflecting (post event feelings as participants struggled for meaning, feeling the weight of finitude, and orientation toward learning and future possibilities).
Conclusion: A deeply relational and existential form of practice was revealed. Encounters challenged purely technical conceptions of competence, exposing the need to understand the emotional, ethical, and contextual dimensions of prehospital violence. Paramedic educators are invited to incorporate hermeneutic, reflective, trauma informed pedagogies into teaching practice to prepare learners for the complex human realities they will face.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	paramedic, trauma care, stabbing, hermeneutic phenomenology
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development > Centre for Vulnerable Children and Families Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Health Sciences (HEA)
Last Modified:	10 Nov 2026 07:16
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/54913

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads