The respiratory arrest of a street-work client, drug poisoning in a residence hall, a particularly sleepy and confused client during a home visit, these are some of the medical emergencies with which a social worker can be confronted in their professional environment.

This course addresses different emergencies in specific contexts of social work. It conveys advanced knowledge in the examination and elicitation of medical history in medical emergencies as well as practical measures for intervention that go beyond the knowledge of a normal first-aid course. First-aid basics such as haemostasis, types of patient positioning and cardiopulmonary resuscitation are refreshed. The lecturers are social workers with emergency-paramedic training.

Course contents

• Legal background
• Logistics and resources for medically acute situations (144, 141, 1450 ...)
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, also with AED (defibrillator) and bag-valve-mask
• Types of patient positioning
• Haemostasis/pressure bandage
• Impaired consciousness (alcoholisation, drug emergencies, diabetic situations, stroke ...)
• Environmentally contingent emergencies (heat/cold exposure)
• Suicide attempt / involuntary hospitalisation
• Special patient groups (palliative care, extremely overweight patients ...)
• Signs of physical abuse

Didactics

• Lectures
• Case simulations in parallel small groups 

Lecturers

Christoph Holzhacker

Emergency paramedic NKI, paramedic instructor, chief instructor rescue service Austrian Red Cross, Provincial Association Lower Austria; Associate Lecturer social pedagogy (Med. basics), GuK (sign language supported communication), preclinical care; Ass. National Coordinator AMLS Austria; Advanced Medical Life Support Bundesverband Rettungsdienst BVRD.at; studies in social work, studies in health sciences and public health; studies in NPO- management (ongoing).

Christoph Redelsteiner

Social worker, health scientist, emergency paramedic - NKI, paramedic instructor; St. Pölten UAS Academic Director Master Social Work; Public health - healthcare research, rescue service and social services, social work in the healthcare sector, crisis intervention, scientific Head of university course "Rescue-Service Management" Danube University Krems.

Florian Zahorka

Social Worker, emergency paramedic, Junior Researcher at the Ilse Arlt Institute for Social Inclusion Research, St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, Department of Social Sciences, research focuses: psychosocial indicators in rescue service, digitalisation and social work; studies or research stays in Colorado Springs (USA), Bandung (Indonesia), Seoul (South Korea), Wisconsin (USA).