TY - JOUR TI - Coping skills education to reduce PTSD in EMS providers DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-7dwc-h170 PY - 2020 AB - Emergency medical service (EMS) providers are exposed to traumatic events while performing occupational duties. Adaptive copings skills can reduce or prevent the development of PTSD symptoms (Thompson, Fiorillo, Rothbaum, Ressler, & Michopoulos, 2017). Purpose of the Project The purpose of this DNP project was to implement a coping skills education intervention and assess if doing so would decrease symptoms of PTSD among EMS personnel. The aim of this project was to reduce symptoms of PTSD among EMS providers through the provision of coping skills education. The main objectives for this project were to develop a coping skills education program for the EMS agency, provide the coping skills education intervention to project participants, and assess in one-month post implementation, if there were significant changes from baseline to indicate if providing coping skills education was effective in PTSD symptom reduction. Methodology This project utilized a quasi-experimental design to meet the project objectives. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated using pre-intervention and post-intervention assessment tools (Brief-COPE Inventory and the PCL-5). The Brief-COPE Inventory provided information on what coping skills were being used and PCL-5 assessed for PTSD symptom severity. Results There was a reduction in PCL-5 scores, however, the reduction was not statistically significant. Comparison of pre- and post-intervention means on the Brief-COPE assessment tool signified a statistically significant increase in coping ability. Although PTSD scores did not decrease significantly, the coping ability of participants did significantly improve. Also of note is that in the post-intervention period, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between PCL-5 and Brief-COPE scores, providing some evidence that the coping skills education intervention strengthened the association between PTSD scores and coping. Implications for Practice The results of this DNP project have clinical practice, healthcare policy, quality and safety, education, and economic implications, which support the continued provision of coping skills education for emergency medical service providers. KW - Emergency medical service personnel KW - Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner LA - English ER -