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The topic of learning has come up before; it is timeless. A respected friend once said, “There is no bad education, only missed opportunities when you don’t use what you learn.” Another acquaintance, an educator, shared that you will often improve your knowledge base through the experience of imparting information to others. This week, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of fledgeling dispatchers.
To be clear, the term dispatcher is akin to calling a Paramedic an ambulance driver, an outdated title. Emergency communicators are an ever-growing profession of individuals that direct first responders. Success in delivering any emergency service often begins with receiving basic information from the public and processing it to get emergency resources to the end user, the people. Today that process is rife with policies and procedures and nearly crushed by the weight of the technology necessary to share volumes of information with the right people at the right time at near light speed.
Our local Community College, London’s Fanshawe College, offers its Emergency Telecommunications Course leading students through the rigours of converting a sometimes-vague report of an emergency into a coordinated reaction by paramedics, firefighters and police officers. There is always a lot at stake when disaster strikes. When you dial 911, you are looking for something other than the thirty minutes or its free offer. You want help NOW, full stop. Educators who are seasoned communicators and managers from all emergency services share information and experiences. The successful formula for graduating emergency communicators is topped off with clinical experience in a working communications centre where the staff share their expertise and insight with the students.
When seeing and hearing a passing emergency vehicle, the public can take the service for granted. Watching responders at a scene, you can piece together their actions and begin to see how they work to serve the public. Communicators are a different thing. You call for help, and the process is nearly invisible. A call taker asks simple questions that often frustrate the caller who has witnessed or is experiencing an emergency. The principle is to get the correct information first, enabling the quickest, most appropriate response.
Regardless of the service they represent, staff at emergency communications centres excel at listening to people in distress and making sense of chaos. Another strength is their ability to draw vital information out of that caller. Operators are trained to offer advice and direction during the response phase until the helpers arrive. This is a modified skill compared to the hands-on help coming their way. Sometimes, it is verbal first aid or suggestions for a caller’s safety. In some cases, telephone assistance saves lives, other times reducing the stress and the “helpless feeling” family and witnesses experience in an emergency.
Have you ever looked down the street and wondered, is that west or east? Communicators are taught mapping skills enhanced with the latest digital technology to find those mysterious places described by callers. Blended with real-time global positioning satellite information provided by mobile emergency vehicles, the closest unit is sent to help those in distress. Computer algorithms can make some decisions, but it is still a communicator that considers the variables to take the correct action in an emergency.
Today, considerable attention and support are given to first responders and soldiers who face stressful circumstances, a larger-than-life fact. Emergency communicators face the same stressors hearing emergencies firsthand through the telephone or their radio networks. It’s one thing seeing a situation unfold before you. Sometimes, the combination of sight and sound solves a puzzle, and the problem is not as severe as first thought, resolving the emotional dilemma. To only hear an emergency and not be able to fill in the gaps visually must be extremely challenging. Communicators can experience the same or more severe reactions to stressful situations. Thankfully the care for these professionals is out there, and friends and coworkers are there to help.
Presenting a familiar topic to future communicators this week was an absolute pleasure. The students I faced were sponges for the information, asking questions and offering their personal experiences to illustrate a point to their fellow learners. That resulting force is the magnetism that draws me back to share with future public servants. I am not offering an advertisement, but the School of Public Safety is getting it right.
Should you be looking at training to be a professional?