{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/118524"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/118524","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Recovering from distress : the impact of critical incidents on paramedic work performance","abstract":"In many service operations settings, the difficulty of jobs is unpredictable. Examples include police officers or paramedics routinely responding to calls with only limited understanding of the situations awaiting them. In such settings, a worker may occasionally encounter a critical incident (CI), defined as a task or situation which is sufficiently disturbing to challenge or overwhelm the workers' usual coping mechanisms. We study the impact of complex, stress-inducing tasks on operational task performance of the ambulance crew at the London Ambulance Services (LAS). Our metric for operational performance is cycle times, an important driver of system utilization. Shorter cycle times indicate better performance. From analyzing the LAS data, we found that following a Cl, a crew's cycle times increase and the effect gets worse for teams which face more CIs within the same shift. We find that this effect is non-uniform over sub-components of cycle times. In particular, the impact is more significant on operational performance of complex and less standardized tasks. We also did a robustness check for varying definitions of a Cl and the results hold and are consistent.","abstract_html":"In many service operations settings, the difficulty of jobs is unpredictable. Examples include police officers or paramedics routinely responding to calls with only limited understanding of the situations awaiting them. In such settings, a worker may occasionally encounter a critical incident (CI), defined as a task or situation which is sufficiently disturbing to challenge or overwhelm the workers' usual coping mechanisms. We study the impact of complex, stress-inducing tasks on operational task performance of the ambulance crew at the London Ambulance Services (LAS). Our metric for operational performance is cycle times, an important driver of system utilization. Shorter cycle times indicate better performance. From analyzing the LAS data, we found that following a Cl, a crew's cycle times increase and the effect gets worse for teams which face more CIs within the same shift. We find that this effect is non-uniform over sub-components of cycle times. In particular, the impact is more significant on operational performance of complex and less standardized tasks. We also did a robustness check for varying definitions of a Cl and the results hold and are consistent.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rizwan, Atikha"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Management Program","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Jonas Oddur Jonasson."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018","date_published":"2018","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:34Z","subjects":["Engineering and Management Program.","Integrated Design and Management Program."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["MIT theses are protected by copyright. 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Examples include police officers or paramedics routinely responding to calls with only limited understanding of the situations awaiting them. In such settings, a worker may occasionally encounter a critical incident (CI), defined as a task or situation which is sufficiently disturbing to challenge or overwhelm the workers' usual coping mechanisms. We study the impact of complex, stress-inducing tasks on operational task performance of the ambulance crew at the London Ambulance Services (LAS). Our metric for operational performance is cycle times, an important driver of system utilization. Shorter cycle times indicate better performance. From analyzing the LAS data, we found that following a Cl, a crew's cycle times increase and the effect gets worse for teams which face more CIs within the same shift. We find that this effect is non-uniform over sub-components of cycle times. In particular, the impact is more significant on operational performance of complex and less standardized tasks. We also did a robustness check for varying definitions of a Cl and the results hold and are consistent."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M. in Engineering and Management"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Recovering from distress : the impact of critical incidents on paramedic work performance"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Jonas Oddur Jonasson."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Management Program","Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Integrated Design and Management Program.","System Design and Management Program"],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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We study the impact of complex, stress-inducing tasks on operational task performance of the ambulance crew at the London Ambulance Services (LAS). Our metric for operational performance is cycle times, an important driver of system utilization. Shorter cycle times indicate better performance. From analyzing the LAS data, we found that following a Cl, a crew's cycle times increase and the effect gets worse for teams which face more CIs within the same shift. We find that this effect is non-uniform over sub-components of cycle times. In particular, the impact is more significant on operational performance of complex and less standardized tasks. 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